{"id":1522,"date":"2022-02-16T15:18:53","date_gmt":"2022-02-16T15:18:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/farrellgrp.com\/homepage\/?p=1522"},"modified":"2022-02-16T15:18:53","modified_gmt":"2022-02-16T15:18:53","slug":"the-self-awareness-blind-spot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/farrellgrp.com\/homepage\/?p=1522","title":{"rendered":"The Self-Awareness Blind Spot"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ron thinks he is the most caring and empathetic person in the organization.\u00a0 He prides himself as a strong listener, concerned leader, and the person always willing to offer a good piece of advice.<\/p>\n

But is he really?<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, no.\u00a0 The rest of the world sees Ron as an egotistical control fanatic.\u00a0 Ron\u2019s team views him as someone who listens, but just long enough until he knows that he can start talking. His concern is fake.\u00a0 Ron only cares about what looks good to the higher ups.\u00a0 His advice is a pushy version of \u201cdo it my way,\u201d because Ron thinks he\u2019s smarter than you (even if he hasn\u2019t said it, and you don\u2019t know it, yet).<\/p>\n

It took two resignations over the last couple of months for Ron to look closely in the mirror.\u00a0 Only then did Ron realize that he had a Blind Spot.\u00a0 The Self-Awareness Blind Spot.<\/p>\n

The Complexity of Self Awareness<\/u><\/p>\n

It turns out that self-awareness for Ron, like for most of us, is complex.<\/p>\n

Self-Awareness consists of two distinct components.\u00a0 The first is internal self-awareness<\/strong>, or \u201cHow we see ourselves.\u201d<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 This is what we usually think of when we talk about how self-aware we are.\u00a0 Internal self-awareness is what we know about our behaviors, our thoughts, our values, our goals, our strengths and weaknesses, and a variety of additional personal attributes.\u00a0 It\u2019s what we tell ourselves about ourselves.<\/p>\n

The second component is External self-awareness, or \u201cHow we believe others see us.\u201d<\/em><\/strong> \u00a0This is the awareness aspect that\u2019s challenging for most people, and especially leaders<\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0 Leaders are vulnerable for several reasons – leaders often are good at knowing themselves, leaders tend to think more highly of their opinions than those of others, or leaders just get less feedback (after all, who is telling the leader that they\u2019ve got a \u201cgiant piece of spinach\u201d stuck in their behavior).<\/p>\n

Some researchers have estimated that only 10% to 15% of people are truly self-aware \u2013 understanding in depth both components of their self-awareness.\u00a0 These same studies have indicated that being self-aware internally does not mean that a person is self-aware externally (and vice-versa).<\/p>\n

Why Higher Self Awareness is Important for Leaders<\/u><\/p>\n

Higher self-awareness is associated with many results that great leaders strive for.\u00a0 Here\u2019s just a few of the benefits to both leaders and to those who share their world:<\/p>\n