Written by: Jennifer Sharp, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
We all know what traits we need to be great leaders, especially helping our teams get through this pandemic – honesty, drive, consistency, confidence, authenticity, the ability to be resilient and strong at the worst of times. These are all admirable traits and as leaders we do strive to possess and maintain each one of them, but do they set us apart from others?
I would take this list one step further and add in self-awareness. Not just my own, but to have the willingness to learn about others internally as well. Working with a team of people, I find I’m always striving to understand not only what makes me tick, but also them. If I can understand them better, I can respond better to their needs. By maintaining a high level of self-awareness, not only of myself but others, we all have a greater level of direction, purpose, and influence in our professional and personal lives.
How do we develop self-awareness for ourselves and for others to keep driving ourselves forward?
1. Don’t be afraid to feel
It’s okay to express yourself. Don’t hold the emotions in. Feelings do matter regardless of what they are – happy, excited, angry, frustrated. Don’t label them or judge yourself or the person feeling them. Sit with them and understand why these feelings are occurring. By understanding the feels, you can gain insight into the cause. Go through the process of feeling them, acknowledging them, then letting them go. Feelings are teachers. Encourage others to do the same. Work through the feels together.
2. Seek feedback
This can be a scary task. Understand that learning to be self-aware involves others. Ask a trusted colleague to give you honest feedback about how they see you as a whole in leadership including how you respond to others on your team. It can be as simple as a casual, “how am I doing?” over coffee. Feedback from different sources can allow you to see patterns – the good and not so good – that you may have not been aware of. Relate these back and ask your team to do the same. Insight into your higher self to gain greater self-awareness is amazing. Support your team to do likewise.
3. Know your strengths and weaknesses
Following on from gathering feedback, the feedback only becomes valuable if you do act on it. What can you do to improve yourself? What are you great at? Looking at yourself through others eyes is enlightening. Embrace it all. Learning about your own and others behaviour is fascinating and by identifying what you are doing right and what you could do better at, and visa-versa, adds to further success. Optimal teamwork leads to optimal production.
4. Mindfulness through body language and openness
Does your body portray what is going on in your mind? Are you sending messages without speaking? Are you communicating your feels through your demeanor? Are you suggesting to someone you like what they are about to do and are open to it but are standing with your arms crossed looking past them? Body language speaks multitudes. Are you really present in the conversation or are you somewhere else? If you want to step up and set yourself apart as a leader, be open and curious to new ways of doing things. Accept that your way is not the only way. Welcome new thoughts, ideas, alternative viewpoints from others on the team. This will also upgrade your level of awareness about them and their capabilities. Being mindful of how you are showing up is a huge step forward to knowing and understanding yourself and being fully self-aware in your leadership.
5. Never underestimate the importance of showing your values
Is your life in balance? If you answered yes, then you are most likely feeling good about your life and how you live it. You are aligned with your belief system. Our lives are lived in such a fast-paced way it’s easy to fall down that rabbit hole and begin reacting, generally with negative emotions, in ways that go against our beliefs, our values. But, by being self-aware, acknowledging the feels, and working through them, you can easily return to yourself and choose a path that is reflective of who you are. By understanding your strengths and weaknesses, and being mindful and open, you can step up as a leader and shine above the others, whilst encouraging your team to do the same.
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Jennifer Sharp, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Jennifer Sharp is a leader in the publishing industry, having founded an award-winning publishing press. She has assisted many with telling their success stories globally, whether it be in business or life. She has created coaching and mentoring programs that develop the writer's confidence in themselves and strategies that help them stay confident within themselves in all areas of their lives authentically.
She is the founder of Daisy Lane Publishing, Soul Essence International Press, and Breakthrough:6 Steps to Successfully Publish Your Story coaching program. Jennifer is on a mission to support as many as she can with living their life fully with positive intentions and to assist them with publishing their story along the way. Jennifer is passionate about bringing to life stories that show how women and men have risen above the naysayers in leadership and everyday life to be who they are today, having stepped up regardless of obstacles to pave the way forward for others, whilst working from their soul and heart space.
Jennifer is also a multi published author having published 5-star children’s books, romance, self-help, and a guide to successful authorship book. When not at her desk she is often found with coffee in hand, cat on knee or with her besties on the beach.
