Boosting Your Self-Awareness

Self-awareness is a beneficial skill for leaders to spend time developing as it helps with being more available to — and supportive of — others. How to start? Here are some ways to get yourself a boost:

1. Ask three friends what your greatest qualities are

This helps you to learn about your strengths and what you are bringing to the world that is unique. In turn, this information provides you with an excellent grounding and helps you learn what type of contributions people count on you for. Also, it is a gentle start.

2. Ask three friends what makes you difficult to work with

This feedback can help you grow in awareness and in learning how you are doing in relationships. By hearing these things, you can then discern if you really do them and whether it is conscious or not. If you learn that you are seen as argumentative, for example, you may intentionally soften your approach to disagreements to come from a place of curiosity. It is not necessary to become agreeable— but to be effective it is essential that your behaviors are seen as respectful.

3. Complete this sentence: An adversary would say __________ about me.

Perhaps you have no adversaries, officially, but go ahead and envision someone who is not an active fan. Think about how you are coming across. This helps you gain a new view of your behaviors.

4. Slow down your decision making on purpose

This helps you take more information in, hear from perspectives other than your own and grow in the process. Most decisions do not need to happen rapidly. This may also save you some money.

5. Block time to be by yourself each day

This gives you space for more thinking, reflection and just seeing how you work without outside stimulation. This can help you know yourself more, gain appreciation for how you like to spend time and help find new things that energize you.

6. Spend time caring for plants

To get to know plants, you need to slow down and become more gentle and observant. Most of my greatest lessons are from observing nature. It takes incredible patience.

7. Listen to others without giving your opinion

If you think of something to say, just let it fall away. Everyone does not always have to know what you think; it is OK to be mysterious and reserved at times.

8. Consider your distractions and which ones you welcome

Why would you want to be distracted; are you avoiding something? Hoping for something? Spend some time understanding your motivations with different distractions.