Knowing You
Do you know yourself? I mean do you know your tendencies and your patterns? Do you know how you learn and how your mind thinks?
It’s called self-awareness and it is a valuable asset to know yourself well, to understand how you lead and where you might fail as a leader. Do you know yourself? Here are a few questions to help you find out…
How do you learn?
- Learn by reading?
- Learn by talking out loud?
- Learn by listening?
- Learn by watching someone else?
How do you make strategic decisions?
- Do you need time alone?
- Do you desire advice and counsel?
- Do you need large amounts of data?
- Do you simply fire and then aim?
You get the drift, right? As a society we have so many different personality tests to help us know ourselves. We have books and studies that diagnose our neurotic tendencies. We have so much available. So why do so many of us fall apart? Why is it that leaders break from the inside out?
I think I know why. We don’t understand ourselves as deeply as we could. I am speaking from experience. The more I work to become a better leader the more problem areas arise. The more time I spend with my performance coach the more I see patterns that need some work.
Let me be even more real. I think of myself as a good communicator. It is when I desire to go deeper that problems arise. I have a pattern of not understanding the stages of others and, thus, over-communicating or under-communicating in specific limited situations. It has been bugging me. Yet, because I am figuring myself out with a desire to continue to improve, I am now at a place where I can work on my communication even stronger.
Do you know yourself? Do you know your patterns?
- How do you lead when you get angry?
- What do you naturally do when someone antagonizes you?
- How do you communicate with someone you feel is a competitor?
- How do you treat your family when you are tired?
These are the real issues. Leadership means that you are willing to go deeper to know yourself so that you can be the best you can be for others.
Know yourself for others’ sake.
Posted on November 03, 2009 in Personal Growth
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