Have you ever had a delusional boss? The kind of boss who’s clueless about the impact his or her behavior is having on the department’s morale, or worse yet, could care less but still can’t understand why performance is down? A leader who lacks self-awareness can destroy careers and business success. It’s the number one reason why many high performers leave their jobs. To be fair, many of us don’t see ourselves as clearly as we could. Seeking out feedback from others we work with can be perceived as being weak, and often the only time we get real honest feedback is when we’ve fallen way off course.
Let’s be real here, giving positive feedback in the workplace can be a challenge too. In fact, organizations have paid millions for consultants to teach leaders when and how to give positive feedback. Something as simple as saying, “you did a great job” or “thank you for the extra time and effort” is difficult to say in the workplace. Aubrey Daniels, Ph.D, a leading consultant in the performance management field, has taught organizations for years how to change behavior in the workplace. He has proven that providing positive feedback increases performance, and taps into that discretionary effort that motivates an employee to go above and beyond. Seeking and providing feedback is a challenge that many of us face, yet it’s so important to increasing self-awareness which leads to better performance and more effective relationships.
Self-awareness is the foundation from which all development can occur. It’s the key to becoming a good leader, the kind of leader that has both internal and external self-awareness, and uses that awareness to create positive change. Most of us think about self-awareness as internal, reflecting on the consequences of our behavior, both good and bad. But as Tasha Eurich explains in her book Insight, The Surprising Truth About How Others See Us, How We See Ourselves, and Why the Answers Matter More than We Think, having external self-awareness is important too. Through her research, Tasha has discovered that self-awareness is a highly develop-able skill. In her book she shares techniques and strategies to help readers:
- Hear critical feedback without losing their mojo
- Understand why power can be a roadblock to insight, and how to avoid this trap
- The 3 building blocks for self-aware teams
- How to deal with delusional bosses, clients, and coworkers
If you pick up a copy, enjoy the read! You may discover something you can change about yourself that will positively change you!
Written by Leadership Development Coach, Roberta Bemiller.