Self-Awareness in Leadership

Self-Awareness, Leadership, and Building a Compassionate Workplace - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Self-Awareness, Leadership, and Building a Compassionate Workplace

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Leaders who possess self-awareness are able to build compassionate workplaces because they have the ability to manage their own emotions, thoughts, and behaviors and treat others with kindness and empathy.

You don’t often hear the word compassion and work in the same breath because, at some point, some brilliant leader decided that work should be constraining and repetitive instead of uplifting and fulfilling. This is the same genius who decided that people are just there to help make money and that it doesn’t matter what kind of hardships they have to endure or how unpleasant the work is as long as they’re making the machine run.

The practice of using people solely as robots creates all kinds of tension and disease in the workplace. I’ve found that leaders get much better results when they use compassion to create healthy workplaces. Compassion simply means treating people as if you deeply care about them and understand their experience. It’s a powerful tool to create an environment where employees are valued and understood. Think about what would happen in your workplace if you applied what these smart people say about the subject.

  • Compassion is more important than intellect in calling forth the love that the work of peace needs, and intuition can often be a far more powerful searchlight than cold reason. Betty Williams.
  • If you find it in your heart to care for somebody else, you will have succeeded. Maya Angelou.
  • Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. Leo Buscaglia.
  • We are already one. But we imagine that we are not.  And what we have to recover is our original unity. What we have to be is what we are. Thomas Merton.
  • The greatest degree of inner tranquility comes from the development of love and compassion. The more we care for the happiness of others, the greater is our own sense of well-being. Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama.
  • The act of compassion begins with full attention, just as rapport does. You have to really see the person. If you see the person, then naturally, empathy arises. If you tune into the other person, you feel with them. If empathy arises, and if that person is in dire need, then empathic concern can come. You want to help them, and then that begins a compassionate act. So I’d say that compassion begins with attention. Daniel Goleman.

When I talk with leaders about self-awareness and compassion in the workplace, I get the distinct sense that many don’t yet understand why you would want to care for people at a deeper level because, after all, they’re there to do a job. It is precisely this kind of thinking that keeps their organizations stuck in the cycle of dealing with unhappy and unfulfilled employees.

Leaders who lack self-awareness spend so much time attending to the problems that arise from toxic workplaces that compassion is a welcome alternative. Compassionate workplaces get rid of the negative garbage that comes from not caring for people and replaces it with results from people who feel valued.

Leaders can start doing this at any time they choose but it takes conscious effort and focus on the well-being of their employees. What will you do to increase self-awareness and build a more compassionate workplace?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Aware Leaders Aren't Afraid of Failure - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Self-Aware Leaders Aren’t Afraid of Failure

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Self-aware leaders aren’t afraid of failure because they understand that there is much to be learned from any experience or situation, including the negative ones.

I often work with leaders who set a goal and then pile a bunch of other stuff on top of it and paralyze themselves before doing anything. Then they tell me that they’re afraid of doing something wrong or scared of messing up.

The idea that we do things wrong or mess up comes from inside our own minds and was often put there by our families. We repeat these ideas over and over, even when they lead to negative results. The interesting thing is that messing up is such a relative term because it really depends on your definition of it.

The next time you set a goal for yourself try focusing less on the whole “I’m doing something wrong and what if I fail,” outlook and set yourself up for success. Try the following ideas to let go of the need to be perfect:

1. Set an achievable goal you know you can do.

2. Do one thing at a time and don’t burden yourself with extra things.

3. Celebrate when you complete a task, do something to treat yourself well.

You only fail if you set yourself up for failure or listen to the negative messages inside your head. Success comes from setting realistic goals, completing them and moving forward purposefully.

What will you do to increase self-awareness and use failure as a learning tool?

Cheers,

Guy

Developing Self-Awareness to Be an Effective Leader - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Developing Self-Awareness to Be an Effective Leader

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When I consult with organizations to help them develop self-awareness, employees often describe a leadership style that is pervasive in many workplaces: It usually consists of a leader who is a good person, works really hard and means well but is constantly overwhelmed and reacting to events. This creates a leadership dynamic where the leader is in survival mode and really doesn’t have the time or perspective to lead in any other way. Working frantically isn’t the same as actually being productive. Very often, these decent and caring individuals end up being the dreaded bad boss or ineffective leader. It’s not because they’re horrible people, they just lack self-awareness and don’t know any other way of doing things.

When it comes to leadership, I think in terms of increasing self-awareness in order to practice positive behaviors that generate beneficial results. When we do positive things it tends to create more positive results. If we choose to focus on the negative we get different outcomes. To begin evaluating whether you’re an effective leader see if you recognize the following behaviors:

1.  Always checking up on employees.
2.  Constantly asking employees for updates.
3.  Feeling rushed or pressured.
4.  Feeling out of control if things aren’t done a certain way.
5.  Running from one fire to another.
6.  Constantly reacting to events instead of planning beforehand.
7.  Living with constant stress or tension.
8.  Telling employees what to do instead of listening.
9.  Not really happy at work.
10.  Needing to dominate others.

Do you do any of these things? It’s not horrible if you do, it will just create a certain kind of workplace dynamic than if you were to refocus and practice the following self-aware alternatives:

1.  Lets employees do their work independently.
2.  Trusts employees to keep him up to date.
3.  Feels calm and balanced even under pressure.
4.  Lets people do things in ways that make sense to them.
5.  Doesn’t create or add to the fire.
6.  Plans proactively to minimize emergencies.
7.  Relaxes at work.
8.  Listens to employees and values outside input.
9.  Happy at work.
10.  Doesn’t need to dominate others.

When you look at these two lists which one sounds more like you? Effective leaders tend to be more like the second list and enjoy happier work lives and fewer heart attacks. There’s no secret to behaving this way in the workplace. All it takes is letting go of the old way of doing things and replacing it with more productive behaviors. How will you start developing self-awareness and being a more effective leader?

Cheers,

Guy

Key Team Building Questions Self-Aware Leaders Ask Themselves - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Key Team Building Questions Self-Aware Leaders Ask Themselves

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Self-aware leaders are comfortable with themselves and are always asking themselves questions about how they’re doing and how they might improve, including on issues like team building.

The standard approach to team building helps people bond casually but often neglects the deeper things that bring people together. As a leader all you have to do is look deep inside yourself and determine whether you’re ready to build great teams. Here are some key questions you can ask yourself to improve the results you get from team building.

Empathy

Do people deeply understand other people’s points of view and are they able to empathize with others?

Listening

Do people really listen to each other and let the other person say whatever is in his or her mind? Do they do it without interruptions, sarcasm, punishment, jokes or advice-giving?

Long-Term Commitment

Is your organization firmly committed to helping people build stronger teams long-term? Is there a culture of team building from the top down?

Deeper Connection

Do people interact with each other on a deeper level? Do they move past superficial conversation to really getting to know each other?

Mutual Support

Are people there for each other no matter what? Do they consistently help each other because they genuinely care?

Think about how your team building philosophy meshes with the ideas we’ve talked about. Team building can yield much greater results for your organization if you move beyond short-term efforts and shift to approaches that are aimed at the values, culture and functioning of the organization. What will you do to develop self-awareness and promote team building in your company?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Aware Leadership and the Compassionate Workplace - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Self-Aware Leadership and the Compassionate Workplace

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A lot of leaders think that it’s impossible, or impractical, to behave with compassion in the workplace. Self-aware leaders understand that building a compassionate workplace is possible. You can design any type of workplace you wish, from the harshly autocratic to the kind and compassionate.

You can consciously promote compassion in the workplace by doing things like:

  • Behaving with kindness.
  • Treating people like human beings.
  • Supporting flexible work hours.
  • Providing benefits.
  • Allowing people to grow.
  • Allowing employees to think for themselves.
  • Encouraging diversity and inclusion.
  • Listening to people’s ideas and concerns.
  • Giving people responsibility.
  • Understanding that people have lives outside work.

I can hear the steam coming out of some leaders’ ears as they struggle with the idea that you can actually create a compassionate workplace and get stuff done. For too long, the norm has been to build workplaces that subjugate and control people instead of helping them grow and succeed. You can be the one to use self-awareness to break that cycle, especially if you’re in a leadership position.

What will you do to increase self-awareness and promote compassion in your workplace?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Aware Leaders Help Their Employees Succeed Rather Than Bossing Them Around - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Self-Aware Leaders Help Their Employees Succeed Rather Than Bossing Them Around

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A lot of leaders who lack self-awareness are great at bossing their employees around but less adept at helping them succeed. Self-aware leaders understand that helping is different from directing because it focuses on what you can do to support your employees so they can thrive and excel instead of forcing them to complete tasks. The standard leadership model is like sports coaching, where you talk at people and push them to do something, whether they want to or not, rather than finding ways to have them motivate and educate themselves from within.

Helping is a valuable tool to improve staff morale, increase productivity, build stronger teams and promote excellent workplace communication. You can delegate more effectively and give your staff the opportunity to demonstrate what they can do. Here are some tips you can use to begin being more self-aware and helping instead of giving orders:

  • Offer educational opportunities.
  • Praise the things they do well.
  • Support employee skills and talents.
  • Don’t discipline, help people learn from their experiences.
  • Let employees have independence.
  • Give employees decision-making ability.
  • Use employees’ ideas.
  • Allow various points of view and approaches.
  • Brainstorm.
  • Listen to employees.
  • Problem-solve collaboratively when appropriate.
  • Help employees find their own solutions.
  • Direct less.
  • Meet regularly to listen to employee feedback.
  • Help people keep growing and advancing.

Self-aware leaders know that, when their employees feel their skills and abilities are being recognized and utilized, the organization benefits. By helping instead of bossing, you get to create a happy workplace environment which, in turn, reduces turnover, hiring costs, morale problems and other glitches.

Helping is an ongoing process that encourages employees to learn and grow. When you help someone, you move from directing to encouraging them to succeed based on their own interests, talents, and abilities. What will you do to increase self-awareness, boss less, and help more?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness, Leadership, and Reducing Stress at Work - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Self-Awareness, Leadership, and Reducing Stress at Work

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Leaders who possess self-awareness are able to reduce stress at work because they understand how their emotions, thoughts, and behaviors can lead to a more calm, positive mindset.

Many leaders run around in a perpetual state of stress but did you know you can do some basic things to interrupt this pattern? Being stressed is a natural reaction if you’re being chased by a lion but can cause all kinds of problems if you are feeling it all the time in your workplace. Think of the following ideas to reduce your stress at work.

  1. Do things you love for a living. This will help you avoid the stress from doing a job you hate.
  2. Surround yourself with supportive people. Make sure that you interact with people who respect you for who you are.
  3. Limit the overwhelm. You don’t have to take on everything at once.  Do one thing well and move on to the next.
  4. Take time to take care of yourself. Take time each day to take a walk or talk with a supportive friend.
  5. Focus on the positive. Don’t worry so much about the stuff you can’t control or that goes wrong. Think about the things that are going well.

Try these ideas to help balance your work life. You’ll be thankful you started thinking this way when you feel more relaxed and less stressed out. What will you do to use your self-awareness to reduce the stress you feel at work?

Cheers,

Guy

The Self-Awareness Guy