When we consider the qualities that are most important for success at work, one tends to get left behind: self-awareness.
It’s no surprise that this critical ability is so overlooked. It’s not tangible or measurable, so it’s difficult to say who has it and who doesn’t, and oftentimes it’s approached with a level of fear: it’s never easy to reflect on our own personalities and even the most conscientious among us can shy away from its challenges.
But helping your people develop greater self-awareness can deliver widespread benefits to your business as well as your staff. Here’s how.
It builds exceptional employees
When the gate in your garden gets a little creaky, you don’t replace the whole thing, do you? You just find the WD-40 and give the hinge a little greasing.
Helping staff develop self-awareness is similar. If a member of the team is struggling to learn a new task, it may be because it’s not been taught in a way that suits their learning style. Likewise, if they dominate in group settings, frustrating others by not giving them room to express themselves, it may be because they have an extroverted personality type.
Neither of these things are inherently bad; in fact, in the right circumstances, they can be very good when used in the right way. Self-awareness is that little bottle of WD-40. It can help you and your people make the tiny tweaks necessary to deliver big successes.
It helps you collaborate and communicate more clearly
Despite the name, self-awareness isn’t just about the self; it’s about other people too. Specifically the way we work with other people.
Let’s say a manager is a hands-on kind of person. They like to take charge and don’t mince words when communicating with their team. Some on the team are fine with this, others find it rude. As a result, conflict emerges. Perhaps it fizzles out, but it’s just as likely to encourage the latter group to disconnect or even leave.
Self-awareness helps people hold up a mirror to themselves. By stepping back and understanding how their style may impact others, this manager would be able to identify what works for whom when communicating with their team and deliver their message more effectively.
The end result? Rock solid relationships and self-motivated staff who are ready to succeed.
Building resilience in times of high pressure
Work can be stressful; there’s no avoiding that. Instead of ducking such difficult moments, it’s important for your people to understand how they react to them. Do they express their emotions, or do they retreat within themselves and hope the problem solves itself?
Gaining more self-awareness helps people identify trends in their behaviour, understand what’s having a positive or negative effect, and make the changes they need to deal with problems more effectively.
Those who struggle to communicate their worries may simply need a trusted ally to confide in. Those who do express their frustrations may need a circuit breaker, like a walk or a tea break.
They’re simple solutions from simple learnings, but they can make a world of difference both to your staff and your business as a whole.
How do you promote self-awareness?
When it comes to developing self-awareness, there’s no one set approach and no timeframe that can be imposed. Every company and every person will need to find their own way in their own time. However, the following tips can help:
Encourage conversation
Simply talking about things can be a positive and productive first step – and it begins from the top. Leaders and managers must show their teams that they’re open to conversations and dedicated to helping their staff get to grips with their strengths and weaknesses.
Ask staff to step out of their comfort zone
It’s never easy to try new things, but it’s only through pushing ourselves that we learn. Work with your teams to understand what they want to learn, what they feel comfortable and uncomfortable with, and where they feel happy to stretch their abilities – with a little assistance from yourself.
Think outside the box
Discover how Creating Dynamic’s self-awareness development sessions helped one company close more sales and get in touch to find out how we can help you.
