Exemplary leaders are self-aware. How self-aware are you?

Self-awareness is a key competency within the leadership and emotional intelligence disciplines. Exemplary leaders know their own strengths and weaknesses. Exemplary leaders know what drives their employees, and what stops creativity and active participation. Exemplary leaders know their own emotions within situations and around specific topics or specific people. Exemplary leaders are clear on how others perceive them and seek objective feedback to enhance relationships. Exemplary leaders are self-aware. How self-aware are you?

Self-aware leaders:

• Work smarter by utilizing talent and celebrating others’ successes; they do not micro-manage.

• Create vision for success by empowering others to bring their best; they do not force agendas. 

• Plant seeds for the future by encouraging all employees to practice continuous improvement; they do not focus time on fires (unless literally there is a fire).

• Spend time with high performers and consistent/reliable performers; they do not give all their time to those who are unwilling to come along.

• See opportunities for learning in problems; they do not blame.  

• Build cohesive, creative, cooperative teams; they do not build walls.

• They remove obstacles; they do not hold tight to arbitrary and punitive rules.

• Walk the talk, model the way; they do not say one thing and do another.

• Hire the right people; then watch success unfold.

Effective leadership is about head and heart, mind, and emotion; it’s about cognitive and affective processing; it’s about learning and changing. Effective leaders know what it takes to create psychological safety environments, which supports a trust within the team. Effective leaders are self-aware, and this motivates, engages, and empowers others.