BUILDING YOUR SUPERPOWER OF SELF AWARENESS

​I coached a business owner named Sally (not her real name). She runs a 5-person accounting firm and asked me to help her make her office more productive. We were able to accomplish this in only two sessions. 

In our first coaching call, I asked if she was aware of how her employees felt about working with her. She said, “I assume they're fine, but I honestly don’t know.” I suggested that she had a half hour “one on one” conversation with each employee to gain insights on how they experienced working for her. I recommended she ask, “What about working with me do you enjoy, and what can I do to help make your work life more satisfying?”
 
In our second and final coaching session, Sally shared her findings. She learned her moods were impacting the productivity of her staff. People were not feeling psychologically safe enough to offer her support when they observed Sally was under stress. She therefore made a commitment to her employees and herself to not let her moods or stress affect her employees. If necessary, she could take a walk around the building. 
 
Research has proved that individuals with high self-awareness will have better relationships, improve decision making skills, and increased productivity in their work and in their life. 
 
A key to self-awareness is listening carefully to feedback from others. Asking simple questions like Sally did demonstrates what’s called public self-awareness. This involves knowing how we appear to others and being intentional about our behavior in any given situation. It took courage for Sally to authentically receive the reactions of her employees as to how she was impacting them.
 
We also have a private self-awareness which is being able to observe and think about our internal state of emotions, levels of stress, physical well-being, and how our strengths and weaknesses impact others. Sally now monitors her anxiety and to make sure it does not affect those she works with.
 
Having built her superpower of self-awareness, Sally’s employees now feel more relaxed; therefore, the office runs smoother, and productivity is increased. 

Tom Drucker MA, All But Dissertation is a founding partner of Consultants in Corporate Innovation, transforming leaders and teams plus improving processes in companies big and small. He is also a managing director at Janas Investment Bank.