Leadership Self-Awareness

Self-Awareness and Your Thoughts on Diversity - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Self-Awareness and Your Thoughts on Diversity

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When I train leaders and organizations I often listen for their thoughts and attitudes on diversity. Leaders who possess self-awareness tend to welcome diversity and are open to finding ways to use it to improve their workplaces. If leaders believe that diverse people can get along and work together well, then they promote diversity; if they think that people can’t be trusted and don’t welcome a variety of viewpoints, then they will be suspicious or fear it.

You get results based on the thoughts you bring to workplace. Some of the words (which come from thoughts) I’ve heard people say that may hinder diversity practices include:

  • They’ll never get along.
  • They are different than us.
  • It’s always been that way.
  • Diversity’s a joke, let’s just do it my way.
  • I don’t trust that person.
  • I bet they’re talking about me.
  • I’ve tried everything and nothing works.
  • They have an attitude.

As thinking human beings, we have a choice as to how we approach almost any topic including diversity. Think about the phrases above and what kind of results you might get in the workplace if you thought that way. Now think about what kind of results you might observe if you increased your self-awareness and thought along the following lines:

  • We can work on this.
  • We’ll figure out a way to bring them together.
  • I’ll start a conversation with him/her.
  • I value different opinions.
  • We value all people in this workplace.
  • We focus on promoting collaboration, not conflict.
  • I’m going to trust that person.

What kind of results would you get if your thoughts were more like these? Think of the effect that might have on your workplace. Diversity is really just a state of mind. What you think about ends up being what you see in your workplace. If you’re self-aware and open to new things, then diversity will be an excellent tool to help you build a high-functioning organization. How will you improve your self-awareness and use diversity as an asset?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness and the Secret to Effective Communication - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Self-Awareness and the Secret to Effective Communication

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People often ask me what’s the secret to effective communication.  There really are no hidden mysteries, it just requires having the self-awareness to communicate with people in a way that makes things easier for everyone in the workplace. Try these ideas and you’ll be on your way to communicating more effectively and getting more done with less effort.

  1. Build up your self-awareness so you understand how your emotions, thoughts, and communication style affects you and others.
  2. Think before you talk.
  3. Speak calmly or don’t speak at all.
  4. Listen more than you talk.
  5. Try not to react to what the other person is saying.
  6. Ask open-ended questions.

How many of these concepts do you practice on a regular basis?  Once you master these skills you’ll be on your way to enjoying communicating with others.  Effective communication is achievable, you just have to be conscious of what you’re doing to make it happen. What will you do to increase your self-awareness and communicate effectively?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness and Organizations That Welcome Diversity - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Self-Awareness and Organizations That Welcome Diversity

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I’ve consulted with organizations where leaders and employees are genuinely puzzled by diversity, there is a palpable sense of resistance or worry that this diversity thing will throw everything into chaos. Other organizations welcome diversity. So what’s the difference? Self-awareness. Companies that have self-aware employees and leaders tend to welcome new information and variety of approaches because they are comfortable with themselves and others.

The bottom line with diversity is that it’s not scary, it’s simply a way to use the diverse talents and experience of your employees. If we move away from thinking of diversity of something creepy we can use it to make ourselves and our organizations more successful. What if we thought of diversity in the following ways?

  • Diversity will help us use all the talents of our staff.
  • Diversity will help us reduce conflict.
  • Diversity will help us work collaboratively.
  • Diversity will help us create stronger teams.
  • Diversity will help us compete more effectively.

Diversity is as effective as we make it. If we choose to see it as a nuisance or a threat we’ll get predictable results. If we view it as a tool then it can help us succeed. Self-aware leaders and employees appreciate diversity because it gives them more tools to work with and succeed, they see it as an asset rather than a threat. What will you do to increase the self-awareness in your workplace and view diversity positively?

Cheers,

Guy

10 Ways Leaders Who Lack Self-Awareness Lose Employees - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

10 Ways Leaders Who Lack Self-Awareness Lose Employees

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Leaders who lack self-awareness do a lot of things that alienate their employees and then shake their heads and wonder why things got out of hand when the person leaves the organization. One of the key elements of inspirational leadership is to remember that you’re there to interact positively and make things easier for the people around you. The less challenges and obstacles your employees have, the better you’ll look and the less time you’ll spend trying to put the pieces back together. Here are ten ways that leaders lose employees:

  1. Treat people uncourteously or disrespectfully.
  2. Don’t recognize or put to use people’s talents and abilities.
  3. Put people in jobs they hate and give them no opportunity to grow.
  4. Don’t listen to people.
  5. Inability or refusal to fix things when they go awry.
  6. Regularly get into a conflicts.
  7. Insist you’re right and they’re wrong.
  8. Read the employee the policy handbook instead of working with them to resolve an issue.
  9. Not knowing how to communicate effectively.
  10. Lack of follow-through.

The secret to enlightened leadership is to do the opposite of these things. Treat people like they really matter and show them you care deeply about their well-being and growth and you’ll create a workplace where individuals feel important and work accordingly. If you currently do any of these things, think of ways to replace the behavior with one that leads in a more positive direction and you’ll be on your way to creating a more positive workplace. What will you do to keep your employees happily working for your organization?

Cheers,

Guy

Benefits of Self-Awareness in the Workplace - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Benefits of Self-Awareness in the Workplace

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There are a lot of benefits of self-awareness in the workplace, including building a happier, more productive workplace where people interact positively and get more done. Self-awareness is a vital skill for everyone in any organization because it helps things run better.

Self-awareness is defined as the ability to recognize, understand, and deal positively with one’s own (and others’) emotions and thoughts, which leads to positive behaviors and the ability to interact well with other people. It’s important in workplaces because it makes things easier for everyone.

Here are some of the most important benefits of self-awareness in the workplace:

  • Leadership treats people well because they aren’t behaving out of fear or ego.
  • Leaders are mentally healthy and model positive behaviors.
  • Employees are better taken care of and are treated as the valuable members of the organization that they are.
  • People don’t work out their problems on each other, they have the ability to understand their own strengths and weaknesses and interact positively.
  • Communication is much easier because people know how to get out of the way and listen to each other.
  • People get more done with less effort because they don’t waste time with power struggles or the need for dominance or power.
  • Less conflict.
  • Fewer arguments.
  • People are able to work well with each other.
  • People understand each other better.
  • Everyone is more motivated because leadership encourages them to do what they do best.
  • People treat each other with empathy and kindness.
  • The organization functions as a cohesive whole.

Imagine what your workplace would look like if you and your employees did all or even some of these things, you might actually enjoy being there instead of having it be a constant struggle.

Self-awareness is vital in the workplace because people are happier and work better when they feel healthy inside. What will you do to enjoy enjoy the benefits of self-awareness in your workplace?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness, Leadership, and Achieving Your Goals - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Self-Awareness, Leadership, and Achieving Your Goals

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When I help leaders achieve their goals they often encounter certain transition periods where it’s difficult to make it to the next level. This is perfectly normal because there is a natural ebb and flow to achieving your goals. Sometimes there is a lot of movement and in other instances there is little change.

Being an excellent leader and achieving your goals requires self-awareness, which means that you understand how your emotions, thoughts, and actions affect you, the people around you, and your organization. Being self-aware means that you really know yourself and are able to set and meet goals that are healthy and positive for you and others.

Once you build up your self-awareness, there are five steps you can take to increase your chances of success and avoid feeling stuck:

  1. Set a clear goal and keep it simple.
  2. Take one small action per day to achieve your goal.
  3. Review the result of your action and either do another or move on to the next action.
  4. Keep doing things.  It doesn’t matter what you do, just keep taking small actions.
  5. Celebrate along the way.  Pat yourself on the back when you notice a positive development.

The major elements that will help you achieve your goals are to build up your self-awareness and keep taking action. Many leaders get discouraged and give up too soon because they don’t keep moving forward. Success comes from constantly and consistently working on things. Try these five steps and measure where you are a month from now, you’ll likely appreciate what you’ve been able to achieve.

What will you do to develop your self-awareness and achieve your goals?

Cheers,

Guy

Leadership, Lack of Self-Awareness, and Workplace Communication - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Leadership, Lack of Self-Awareness, and Workplace Communication

/ / Self-Awareness in Leadership, Self-Consciousness / , , ,

Most leaders will tell you that communication is vital to a well-functioning workplace. Then they demonstrate their lack of self-awareness by screaming, ignoring, dominating, misunderstanding or annoying their employees. There is a huge gap between what leaders say they know about effective communication and what they actually practice. Here are five of the biggest workplace communication mistakes.

1.  Not listening. How can you gather the information you need or figure out what is going on in your workplace if you don’t listen? You can’t. Listening is the most vital skill to acquire information, promote collaboration and build trust in the workplace.

2.  Assuming you know what the other person is going to say. Cutting people off because you’ve “heard it all before” or you’re irritated is a great way to tell your employees they don’t matter. Try listening to your employees without interrupting before you decide you know what they’re talking about.

3.  Thinking of the next thing you want to say instead of what the other person is saying. Many leaders are obsessed with the next wonderful thing they’re going to say. Fight this urge by clearing your mind before and while you’re listening to your employees and focusing on understanding what they’re saying.

4.  Getting angry or upset and reacting negatively to what you’re hearing. Your employees will be much less likely to share information or ideas with you if you always fly off the handle. Communication doesn’t have to be a constant struggle. Work on controlling your own emotions so you can communicate on a deeper level with your employees.

5.  Not setting aside time to talk. Hurried conversations often end up in misunderstandings because the participants haven’t devoted the time necessary to get on the same page. Make sure your important conversations are carried out with plenty of time for each participant to understand what’s being said.

Do you recognize yourself in any of these five concepts? If so, no worries, simply make small adjustments to develop your self-awareness and move toward a more balanced communication style that will get you better results. Effective communication is about practicing positive behaviors every day, not just saying you do. What will you do to increase your self-awareness and practice effective communication?

Cheers,

Guy

The Self-Awareness Guy