I remember a time when I was working with a leader- almost every time I was stuck or needed help, or seemed doubtful in a conversation, he was able to pick up on it and help me find a way forward. This was not just the case with me. He seemed to have a great understanding of how the project was doing, and if something needed his intervention. People on the team, as well as stakeholders had strong confidence in him. Everyone had this feeling that as long as he was in charge, the project was in good hands.
What my leader had was great awareness. Because of that, he used to hardly miss a thing- he had a great eye for detail. His awareness enabled him to understand how everyone was doing. Some people on the team claimed he was a mind-reader. Actually, he was a leader with great awareness.
Awareness is a key characteristic for leaders to be able to lead with impact. Many experts believe that the ability to be perceptively in tune with yourself and your emotions, as well as sound situational awareness, can be a powerful tool in leading the team.
As a leader, the level of awareness that you have can go a long way in engaging, inspiring and motivating your people. Leaders are expected to look out for their people. If they struggle to notice what’s happening around them, they would most likely struggle to help anyone. Many leadership problems are driven by low level of awareness. So as a leader, it becomes important that you build your awareness. So you observe things better and connect with people in a better way.
So how can you build your awareness? There are 2 levels of awareness that we are going to focus on:
1. Self-awareness
2. External awareness (Also referred sometimes as situational awareness)
Self-awareness
I often share this in my presentations- leadership begins within yourself, and expands onto others. For you to be a leader with great awareness, having self-awareness is the key. Self-awareness is not a destination, but a journey that most successful leaders are on.
In simple terms, self-awareness is the understanding of yourself-your strengths and weaknesses; your emotions; your interactions; being able to introspect. Self-awareness in leadership has been proven to improve communication, decision making, conflict resolution, and the overall effectiveness of a leader. Having said that, studies have found that only 19% of female executives and 4% of male executives actually demonstrate strong self-awareness. So there is so much scope- and need, for leaders to develop this skill.
What are some of the ways in which you can develop self-awareness?
Know your strengths and weaknesses: It is always worthwhile to have an understanding of what your strengths and weaknesses are. You can reflect on what are things that you are comfortable doing, and what are the things that take you out of your comfort zone. What are the areas where you have done well, and what are the areas where you could do better.
Apart from self-reflection, you could seek inputs from people you trust on what are the things you are good at, and where you could improve. This can offer some really good insights around some of the areas that you might not have thought about. People often use the 360 degree feedback tool to gain insights. However, you can always do this in person as well.
Another way to gain insights around this is to access various diagnostic tools that assess your behaviour and personality and give you a good understanding of your strengths and weaknesses, as well as your behavioural patterns. I often do work with people via a tool called Values Pendulum to identify areas where they can improve their potential. If you are curious about how this could help you, please feel free to reach out to me!
Know your emotions: Self-awareness can also be linked to understanding your emotions and what situations trigger various reactions from you. Being in tune with your emotions is often key for you to develop emotional intelligence. As you recognise the shift in your emotions, you are more likely to recognise those in others too.
To understand your emotions, identify what do you value most. People resonate better to things that they value. They also react strongly when an experience doesn’t align with what they value. For example- if you value punctuality, you might not be happy if the other person turns up late for a meeting. Every experience might trigger some emotion in yourself. It’s important to recognise those triggers, and how you are feeling. Accordingly, you can manage your emotions in a better way.
Another way to gauge your emotions is to reflect on the interactions you have with people. What excites you? What makes you angry or upset? What calms you down? Recognising those within yourself can again help you manage your emotions, especially while interacting with others. Why is this important? Studies reveal that it takes less than 7 minutes for a leader’s emotions to affect the mood and performance of his/her team. So if you are stressed, overwhelmed, upset or angry, can you imagine the impact on the people around you?
External awareness
The other aspect of awareness is the understanding of what’s going on around you. As I mentioned earlier, as a leader you are expected to look out for your people, or respond to a wide variety of situations. Having greater awareness of what’s going on around you can help. Here are some of the ways in which you can build your external awareness:
Be aware of conversations around you
This is where you pay attention to what people are saying, to you directly or to each other. What’s the general conversation in the group? How is the energy in your environment? Are people feeling energised about what they are working on, or are they feeling stifled? Picking up on these aspects can help you stay on top of most scenarios at work and puts you in a position where you can proactively address them. Curiosity and active listening help you build awareness around this.
Read the room
In meetings/discussions, it’s important to be aware of people’s body language. Focus not just on what is being said, but how it is being said. What are the emotions at play? Also, what is not being said? Are people hesitating about something, are they engaging with your message wholeheartedly? All of these are vital cues for you to have conversations with people and find out what’s happening. You can be surprised with the information you uncover when you open up to those conversations.
Be aware of mistakes/discrepancies
I heard this from a leader once: “Never walk past a mistake”. It becomes important for you to observe how your team is performing, and if things are on track. Are they delivering their work as required, when required? If something’s out of line, how quickly is that picked up? This not only influences your team’s productivity, but also how you effective you are as a leader.
Here’s an opportunity for you to reflect- how good is your awareness? Of yourself, and around you? How would increased awareness help you personally or in terms of leading others? If you have further questions around how you can improve in this area, please feel free to reach out!