The Secret Sauce of Leadership

There are many attributes and skills required to be a truly good leader.

One that is tough for many of us, both in life and in business, is self-awareness.

In fact, a recent study about emotional intelligence by Hay Group Research found that only 19% of female executives and 4% of male executives exhibit strong self-awareness. Among employees not yet in the executive level – both men and women – only 9% exhibited a strong sense of self-awareness.

So, why is it important?

Certainly, we can all guess at one reason: it helps us to understand our strengths, areas that we need to improve and our weaknesses.

But, perhaps less obvious: being self-aware of ourselves also helps us to be aware of those around us. It helps us to best access our team members’ strengths, where they need coaching, where they need help and how they best need to be approached about it.
It also helps all of us to be more patient, more understanding and more empathetic not only in the office, but in the world around us.

Wonder how self-aware you are? Hint: if you are wondering, it means you are at least a bit self-aware. Here is also a little test I found online (it’s like a fun Cosmo test, for those ages 35 and over) that helps start to access one’s level.