Personal Awareness

Ways for Self-Aware Leaders to Celebrate Diversity - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Ways for Self-Aware Leaders to Celebrate Diversity

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Self-aware leaders frequently ask me how they can celebrate diversity in their organization. There’s no standardized formula, all it takes is some planning and goodwill. Try these ideas as you begin celebrating diversity in your workplace:

  1. Celebrate everyone. Don’t just focus on a certain group, pay attention to everyone in the workplace.
  2. Put diverse people in leadership positions. Nothing says that you care about diversity more than promoting diverse people to leadership positions.
  3. Set up an ongoing diversity discussion. You’ll show exceptional commitment to diversity if you have a program that allows people to regularly discuss how it affects them.
  4. Set an example. How you treat your employees and colleagues sets the tone for the organization.
  5. Include diversity in your values. Not only is is advisable to have a diversity policy but make it one of your core values as in, “We will value people from all backgrounds and experiences.”

Try these ideas and see how they affect your workplace. Companies that try these kind of approaches find that they create an atmosphere of greater trust and employees who feel valued. What will you do to develop self-awareness and celebrate diversity in your organization?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness and Empathy - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Self-Awareness and Empathy

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Self-awareness and empathy are closely linked together because they are both part of being a happy, healthy individual. Empathy is the ability to understand another being’s situation, to walk a mile in their shoes and attempt to comprehend what they are experiencing. As you build more self-awareness in life, you become more and more comfortable with who you are as a person and you create balance and security. The better you feel about yourself, the better you treat others.

Having empathy means that you feel confident enough in yourself to put your needs on the backburner for a while and think about how others see the world. It’s the ability to step outside your head and think about what someone else is going through before you think, say or do something. What will you do to practice more empathy in your life?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Aware People Don't Crave External Validation - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Self-Aware People Don’t Crave External Validation

/ / Self and Self-Awareness, Self-Awareness, Self-Consciousness / , ,

Self-aware people don’t crave external validation because they are happy with themselves and understand their own emotions, thoughts, and behaviors. They are comfortable with who they are and forge their own path in life.

Many individuals lack self-awareness and spend their lives doing what other people say. The only person who really matters is you and it’s important that you listen to what your inner voice is telling you. That doesn’t mean that you need to ignore wise people, just that it’s positive to think independently and trust yourself.

If you feel yourself craving validation, try doing something different than you normally would, like:

  • Increasing your self-awareness by evaluating your strengths and areas for improvement.
  • Working on healing the hurts from your past.
  • Doing some positive thing you love doing and that moves you in a beneficial direction.
  • Taking a walk.
  • Doing something creative.
  • Creating a list of wonderful things about you and adding to it each day for thirty days.

The trick to moving past needing outside validation is to learn how to love yourself by knowing who you are and what brings you joy in life. All it takes to get there is doing small things each day that will eventually transform your life. What will you do to develop self-awareness and stop craving external validation?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Aware Leaders Don't Discipline Employees - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Self-Aware Leaders Don’t Discipline Employees

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Self-aware leaders don’t discipline employees because they understand that being punitive is a poor approach to elicit better performance from people. So why do so many leaders and organizations insist on disciplining everyone? Because they lack self-awareness and the knowledge to do something differently.

See if you recognize this pattern: An employee does something against the rules and sets in motion a complex series of consequences which may include a verbal warning, counseling, reprimanding, written warning, heartfelt lecture and so on up to termination or taking away their TV privileges.

While I understand that workplaces need a standardized, consistent way of dealing with behaviors that break the rules, I’ve found it helpful to encourage an alternate approach that treats employees like thinking, capable people instead of children. Here are 5 ideas to help you deal with negative employee behaviors before you even think about going to the HR manual:

1.  Ask the employee what happened and then listen without interrupting.

2.  Ask the employee to tell you what they did that worked well toward fixing the situation and listen to them. Then ask them what didn’t work as well and listen.

3.  Ask the employee to come up with three recommendations of what they would do to remedy the situation.

4.  Ask the employee to take action on the most important recommendation and give you a time limit by when they will do it. When they report back ask them what three other things they recommend doing and have them follow-through on the top one of that set of ideas and report back.

5.  Praise the employee for the corrections he or she has made.

The trap leaders who lack self-awareness fall into when disciplining employees is that they think they have to correct behaviors through external consequences or punishment rather than helping them learn positive behaviors. This overlooks the concept that employees are able to think for themselves and correct their own behavior.

When I talk with leaders about this approach I invariably get the question, “Well, what if the employee has no clue what to do?” My answer is, you won’t find out until you give them an opportunity to do it. Leaders are so used to running to the rule book that they forget that there are many other ways of resolving all kinds of workplace challenges. The key to this approach is practicing it until people get really good at it. This leads to employees who are able to think critically and problem-solve their own situations.

What will you do to develop self-awareness, stop disciplining employees, and start involving them in improving their own behaviors?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness and Making the World a Better Place - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Self-Awareness and Making the World a Better Place

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Self-awareness is a vital component of making the world a better place because when people understand themselves well and possess inner peace and balance they tend to interact positively and compassionately with others. Here are some ways that self-awareness helps build a better world:

  • You’re willing to take an honest, candid look at who you are and improve the areas that need attention so you can interact positively with others.
  • You’re open to change and different ideas.
  • Working through your unresolved issues makes you less likely to put them on others.
  • Feeling balanced and at peace within yourself makes you less susceptible to influences that lead in a negative direction.
  • When you feel great about yourself in a healthy way you don’t have to dominate or subjugate others.
  • When you know yourself deep inside you don’t have to look to outside entities to give you meaning because you do it for yourself.
  • You live with compassion because you realize that everyone has challenges to overcome and we are all interconnected and interdependent.
  • You take care of yourself and others.
  • You live consciously and mindfully instead of reacting to your environment.
  • Feeling healthy inside greatly reduces fear and increases your ability to think and act courageously.
  • When you’re balanced and fulfilled you’re more likely to have empathy toward others.
  • You share your positive attributes with the world.

Making the world a better place means finding ways for people to be happy about who they are instead of working out their issues on each other. Self-awareness is an essential tool because it helps people find the peace and balance necessary to connect meaningfully with themselves and others. How will you make the world a better place for yourself and as many other people as possible?

Cheers,

Guy

101 Effective Communication Tips for Self-Aware Workplaces - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

101 Effective Communication Tips for Self-Aware Workplaces

/ / Self-Awareness in Leadership / , , ,

Effective communication skills are vital for building a well-functioning workplace yet many people who lack self-awareness interact with each other using styles they learned at home or through their friends or co-workers. Here are 101 effective communication tips to help you build a healthier, happier, more self-aware workplace:

1. Listen to your employees.
2. Don’t interrupt.
3. Don’t offer advice.
4. Refrain from trying to fix things.
5. Don’t give your opinion if not solicited.
6. Stop yourself from jumping in.
7. Don’t react or get upset.
8. Listen for key terms.
9. Set basic ground rules.
10. Repeat information back to the person.
11. Paraphrase what the person has said.
12. Ask the person open-ended questions.
13. Talk in a quiet environment.
14. Talk at a time that isn’t busy.
15. Be friendly.
16. Be courteous.
17. Don’t sit behind a desk.
18. Set up a comfortable atmosphere.
19. Let the other person lead the conversation.
20. No retribution for anything said.
21. Keep confidentiality.
22. Work with the person to find solutions.
23. Be open to more conversations.
24. Be gentle.
25. Talk at the other person’s pace.
26. Be kind.
27. Be caring.
28. Act like you’re interested.
29. Face the person.
30. Look at the person.
31. Nod and say “uh huh.”
32. Invite the person to keep talking.
33. It’s OK to have silences.
34. Try not to guide the conversation.
35. Let the other person set the agenda.
36. Meet at a time the other person determines.
37. Be open to ideas.
38. Be open to changing your mind.
39. Don’t react out of emotion, especially anger.
40. Empathize with the other person.
41. Put yourself in the other person’s shoes.
42. Be helpful.
43. Act like the other person matters.
44. Allow enough time for the conversation.
45. Leave your ego at the door.
46. Leave personal beefs behind.
47. Leave negative opinions out of the meeting.
48. Talk only when the other person asks you to do so.
49. Let the other person talk most of the time.
50. Resist the temptation to rebut.
51. This isn’t the time to be right.
52. Don’t try to prove a point.
53. No arguing allowed.
54. No convincing the other person of your point of view.
55. Don’t cross your arms.
56. Thank the person for meeting with you.
57. Don’t pull rank.
58. Don’t mention policies or procedures.
59. Don’t reference the employee manual.
60. This isn’t the time to punish.
61. Encourage the other person’s thoughts.
62. Build rapport.
63. Show an interest in the other person.
64. Learn about the other person.
65. Appreciate the information they are giving you.
66. Focus on the other person.
67. Don’t think of the next thing you want to say.
68. Smile.
69. Try not to crack jokes at the other person’s expense.
70. Don’t diminish or minimize what the person is saying.
71. Don’t negate what the other person is saying.
72. This isn’t about right and wrong, it’s about talking.
73. Don’t teach.
74. Don’t try to dominate.
75. Don’t try to control the situation.
76. Turn your phone off.
77. All ideas are welcome.
78. One person talks at a time.
79. Act like a grownup.
80. Avoid confrontation.
81. Don’t take things personally.
82. The other person’s opinion is incredibly valuable.
83. Think in terms of building a relationship.
84. Use conversation to build a stronger team.
85. Let people find their own answers.
86. Answer questions only when asked.
87. Treat the other person like a human being.
88. The other person isn’t an enemy.
89. Treat the other person like an ally.
90. This isn’t a competition, it’s a conversation.
91. Encourage different points of view.
92. Praise the other person.
93. Try not to predict what the other person will say.
94. Don’t work out your family stuff at this time.
95. Speak clearly.
96. Speak openly.
97. Speak in a calm tone.
98. Don’t raise your voice.
99. Be positive.
100. Ask for help if you need it.
101. Be courageous.

Effective communication doesn’t just happen, it takes practice over time. Many people get discouraged because it takes time and energy to become an expert communicator. The good news is that anyone can do it if they commit to practicing over time. Effective communication is about techniques but also about your mindset, you can create amazing, dynamic and caring workplaces if you decide to interact positively with others.

What will you do to develop self-awareness and practice effective communication in your workplace?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness and Personal Development - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Self-Awareness and Personal Development

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As you develop self-awareness you’ll find that it will help your personal development journey as well. The more you understand yourself and why you think, feel and do certain things, the more power you have to grow and succeed. You’ll also create a greater number of opportunities to shift the direction of your life because you’ll realize which areas you excel in and which might benefit from some attention.

Self-awareness is essential to developing as a person because it allows you to do things mindfully instead of settling for whatever comes your way. You don’t have to stay stuck in one place your entire life, you can deliberately decide to explore a different path. What will you do to keep developing as a person?

Cheers,

Guy

The Self-Awareness Guy