Who is the person in the mirror?

 

As 2022 nears its end, take a moment to ask yourself: how will you prepare for a new year? Have you paused to reflect on your performance and how you show up to others? 

Traditionally, we define self-awareness as knowing what you are good at and not good at with a willingness to grow [i]. It is an acknowledgment that your self-perception may not align with how others perceive you. 

 

How can you become more self-aware? Frequently asking others for feedback or utilizing tools such as 360s can create a picture of others’ perceptions.

 

Ask yourself, “Does this feedback show the leader I aspire to be? If not, what do I do to change?” This learning mindset requires a change in behavior and action. Awareness requires communication and accountability.

 

Self-awareness is both awareness of self and your impact on others. Here are three strategies to move toward the improvement of self-awareness [i].

 

Step out of your comfort zone

 

Anything out of your comfort is an opportunity to learn and grow. Find new ways to stretch yourself in your current role and create a vision for where you want to go. Go beyond the status quo and get curious.

 

Seek feedback and evaluation

 

Feedback allows you to see your blind spots. Carve out time to have feedback sessions or structured reviews to find the gaps in your strengths and weaknesses. Make sure you have a range of responses from peers, colleagues, direct reports, managers, friends, or family to reveal the complete picture.

 

Make sense of your experiences

 

Look back on good and bad past experiences and learn from them. Ask yourself: how often did I pause to evaluate the situation? Why did I do that? What does this say about my self-awareness? By reflecting, we continue to build greater awareness and perspective. There will always be something that could have been done or said differently, but you must reflect on the experience to find that out.

 

These three points allow us to grow in awareness of self and the impact on those around us. This last quarter is the time to think of a plan or talk to your supervisor to find opportunities to work on self-awareness.

 

[i] Orr, Evelyn. “Mindful Leadership: The Importance of Self-Awareness.” Korn Ferry. Korn Ferry, September 1, 2022.

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