Self-Awareness is the Key to Strong Leadership

Self-awareness is the first step to being able to help others. Leaders who demonstrate high self-awareness are able to understand where they struggle, how they can compensate, and what they learn along the way. It’s a key component of emotional intelligence, which means that being self-aware not only signals the ability to recognize and understand emotions in yourself, but also to extrapolate from this awareness in order to manage behavior and relationships: A crucial ability for exceptional leaders.

Here are a few traits that self-aware leaders possess and how they affect management skills:

Empathy

Empathy requires a person to consider others and their experiences. Approximately 20% of employers offer empathy training, which has increased significantly within the last decade. The important question is, why not? The answer is: your staff will perform better when you empathize with them. Building and nurturing a relationship with each of them will increase loyalty and keep your staff engaged, creative, and collaborative.

So how can leaders get there? This change is subtle but necessary. Look for ways to notice, compliment, and show appreciation to your staff. Make it a point to stop and ask them how their day is going and learn more about them on an individual level. This could be the last thing on your mind, but it will be worthwhile in the long run.

Your employee’s commitment to your organization is not a guarantee, so making sure they feel appreciated and valued will help you build the future of your company.

Mindfulness

Our minds are going at a million miles an hour, all day, every day, so, how do you, as a leader, get your employees on the right “path” to focus on the task at hand? Major companies like Google and General Mills have implemented large-scale mindfulness programs. Thousands of employees have gone through these programs, and data shows there’s a major increase in:

• Productivity
• Decision Making
• Listening

It’s also important to note that there is a significant reduction in stress levels.

Mindfulness and Emotional Intelligence

Researchers are making direct connections between mindfulness and emotional intelligence, stating that emotional intelligence helps build attention and focus, which helps increase self-awareness and empathy. Both of these skills are major factors in determining someone’s emotional awareness.

Why is this important in leadership? Understanding how to bring your mind back to the present moment is an incredible skill that many leaders should know how to use. Every office, work environment, and task can become stressful at different points, and it’s incredibly important to know how to calm yourself in these situations. As a leader, you must set the precedent for your employees, so if you become overwhelmed and react unproductively, it sets a horrible example for your employees.

There are easy ways to shift your body into practicing mindfulness, some including meditation, breathing, yoga, walking, music, and being outside.

Compromise

Researchers have found that social cooperation is a deeply-ingrained aspect of human behavior.

When to compromise at work

Every decision requires flexibility and giving priority to the company’s well-being. Once you’ve decided to compromise, it’s best to meet in person. Research shows that face-to-face conversations are more effective than written messages, and come to a conclusion faster.

When compromising in a leadership role, you will be in situations where you have to be the deciding factor in a hard decision. It’s important to listen intently and understand each person’s needs. By striving to meet these certain needs, rather than pushing them to compromise, your team will be able to achieve better solutions. Unfortunately, you will not be able to cater to each need or idea, but you must remember to do what’s best for the company.

Clarity

How to communicate like a leader

Communicating with your team to manage, assign a task, or voice expectations and directions are skills that a leader should possess to not only inform them but to also inspire them. How you can improve these skills:

• Active Listening: In order to lead, you must listen. How are you supposed to guide a team when you’re not sure about their concerns? Start with this first step, and take a moment to actually understand what your employees are saying to you.
• Adapting to Different Communication Styles: Did you ever have a coach in school that would raise their voice unnecessarily? Were you the kid that would be encouraged by the screaming coach or did you become motivated by the coach that took you aside and shared words of encouragement? The same can be said about your employees. Knowing how to effectively communicate with them will only help you in the long-run.

The best part of being self-aware? These changes all start with you and don’t have to take a lot of time out of your day. By building relationships, re-focusing your employees, and compromising – you will be able to lead by example and teach your employees how to lead as well.