SELF-AWARENESS

Self-aware leaders must be able to recognize their strengths and weaknesses and use that knowledge to do what is best for their organization.

Self-aware leaders understand and manage their personal strengths and weaknesses to optimize leadership impact. A high level of self-awareness is a foundational trait of the best leaders. Without it, the leadership model falls apart.

It’s a continuous journey to achieve what’s commonly known as the “trinity of self-awareness”: know thyself, improve thyself, and complement thyself. More than smart, self-aware leaders have “emotional intelligence.” They are able to take an honest and accurate assessment of their own skills and talents, and use that knowledge to do what’s best for their organizations.

They recognize when they are empowering others and when they tend towards micromanaging, and they build teams that bring needed skills to the table. Their self-awareness inspires trust and admiration as they walk the fine line between conviction and humility. Because they feel confident in their leader, employees feel secure enough to offer new ideas and opinions.

The most effective leaders utilize self-awareness to:

• Operate in the best interests of the whole. Create an environment that empowers others. Excel at what they do best, but also help employees develop their talents and reach their full potential. Work with teams to problem solve and reach goals. Display humility and a commitment to results over status.
• Stay focused. Even the best leaders can be derailed. Recognize emotional shortcomings and triggers to remain dedicated to goals. Identify challenging moments and self-regulate reactions. Be both flexible and resilient in response to emotional and professional obstacles.
• Exude and export positive energy and messages. Define and communicate positive personal and professional values, ethics, and vision. Employ optimism and transparency when discussing challenges, goals, and expectations. Know how and when to have the tough conversations. Recognize the impact actions and attitude have on others. Make personal connections.
• Operate outside comfort zone. In unfamiliar situations, identify and empower those with greater knowledge. Find ways to use strengths to lead others. Be results-oriented. Ask questions. Be open to feedback and learn from others. Recognize own biases and keep an open mind toward finding solutions and reaching goals.

The term Self-Vision, the Vision of the Self, stands for your personal visions for your life, the inner images of what you have achieved after some steps towards your goal, and of what you have accomplished when you have fulfilled your Mission.

Visions can be shaped and expressed in many ways – using words, as an inner image, as imagining how it would feel to have reached the goal.

To consciously form one’s vision in all of these ways, and in addition to write it down or to draw it, creates inner subconscious images that will give you energy and a sense of direction.

To have formulated and communicated your Vision will activate both your inner resources and the external resources you need in order to reach your goal.

When groups, companies or organizations lack visions, it is usually obvious that this in most cases leads to stagnation. This is the case on an individual level as well…

The power of the imagination

To have formulated one’s Mission means to have defined one’s goals, to have decided to work in order to achieve them, and to have laid up an action plan.

To have a Vision about this implies using the power of one’s imagination to allow oneself to now and then be there, to imagine how it will be to have achieved one’s goals, using thought, emotions, body sensations and all senses.

A living inner image of your Vision will be as a magnet, which will “pull” your subconscious mind into acting with focus and determination, and it will influence others by being as a magnet, attracting the resources you need.

You have not completed the work with your Vision, if

• You don’t have a clear image of what you want to achieve, and you can therefore not describe it to anyone else either.
  
• You feel that visions are something dreamers and idealists occupy themselves with; a sensible person is realistic and works in practical ways.
  
• You sometimes feel inspired by people with strong visions, but you don’t think you can be that way, they are ”special”.
  
• You interpret each obstacle, each delay, each problem, as signs of that your vision is unrealistic and impossible for you to achieve.
  

 The Vision needs to be defined, concretized and brought to life

Integrate and Ground.

1. Hone your Vision Statement.
2. Hone your Mission Statement.
3. The Goal Image.
4. Integrate into the entire brain.
5. The Time Line.
6. Programming of your future.