I just finished a huge paper that dealt with self-awareness and how going through the process to become self-aware makes one a better leader. My paper included the results of a wide variety of personal and leadership assessments which allow for the discovery and examination of who were are, what we believe, and why we are motivated to do certain things, particularly when we are leading our teams to do a task or activity, or carry out our shared mission. This kind of exercise also allows us to be honest about our strengths and weaknesses, then to develop an improvement plan, which, when implemented, will result in our being a better leader and serving the people in our care on a deeper and better level. Here is a little excerpt from the paper I just wrote:
Any plan to become a better leader must begin with an increased level of self-awareness, which Sweeney & Fry (2012) include in their list of core qualities for a leader’s character development, and about which Showry & Manasa (2014) state, “Successful leadership often surfaces when people become aware of critical personal experiences in their life, understand the driving forces, and respond by rethinking about self, redirecting their moves and reshaping their actions.” This process of respond-rethink-redirect-reshape is critical to self-awareness, because no one can move from one place to another if they don’t know where they began! Self-awareness allows us to tap into our “inner compass” (Showry & Manasa) and find our “true north” (George & Sims, 2007), resulting in the “continuous improvement” (Ion, Cătălina, & Georgiana, 2013) we need to be authentic leaders.
The assessment process can be tedious and even painful if we are completely honest with ourselves, however, the ultimate benefit of honestly looking within and making the necessary changes to how we behave is absolutely worth it. It all starts by using the following assessment tools. There are many of these types of tools out there, but these are the ones which I have used. All of these can be easily accessed online. In some cases, there is a test to take, in others, just compare yourself to the description provided.
Myers-Briggs Types Indicator
Gallup Strengths Finder
DellaVecchio’s Spiritual Gifts Test
Keirsey Temperment
Fruit of the Spirit (found in Galatians 5:22-23)
DISC Profile
Emotional Intelligence – Resonant Leader
In my paper I go on to say:
In addition to self-reflection, self-aware leaders also seek feedback from others and thoroughly evaluate past performance. By using these techniques, authentic leaders develop a “clear sense of who they are and what they stand for, and they have a strong anchor for their decisions and actions” (Northouse, 2013), which is crucial because “you can’t lead others until you’ve first led yourself on a journey of self discovery” (Kouzes & Posner, 2012).
I can’t emphasize the importance of going through periodic self-reflection exercises. I know that it has helped me to become a much better leader the more I’ve looked within and been willing to be absolutely honest with myself. I hope you will do the same. I promise, it will make you a better leader, too.
Lead well.