Being self-aware is paramount if you want to be an impactful leader. Why? Self-awareness leads to better listening, decision making, delegating and debating skills, and building strong, meaningful connections with employees, peers and other leaders.
Kerry Siggins, CEO, StoneAge
Being self-aware means you can see your strengths and weaknesses and the impact of your leadership style and personality. Self-awareness helps you understand and manage your emotions, and it allows you to be authentic and build trust.
I believe so strongly that self-awareness is paramount to leadership that I launched a new podcast called "Reflect Forward" to dive deeper into the power of self-awareness and self-reflection.
So what does "reflect forward" mean? For me, reflect forward is the ability to build upon your past experiences, decisions and actions, and create the life you want in the future. Your past got you to where you are now, and it's serving you well, but building upon it will help you take your life to the next level. If you don't like where you are, your past doesn't have to define you as a person or define where you are going, but you can only change it if you reflect on what is going well, what isn't going well and decide what you want your life to look like going forward.
The ability to reflect forward requires three steps:
- Show up.
- Dig deep.
- Make an impact.
Show up
The first step of reflecting forward is showing up. It may seem obvious, but it's not easy for many. "Showing up" means being vulnerable, humble and accountable. It means honoring your strengths and achievements, while also looking at your weaknesses and mistakes. It means committing to do the hard work of looking at yourself to make the necessary changes in your life so you can be a better person and leader. It means being honest with yourself while still loving yourself. Showing up requires fortitude and longevity. You can't show up one day a week and expect to transform your leadership style and impactfulness. Showing up is a daily practice, even if it means you need to unplug to rest and recharge so you can come back stronger.
Dig deep
I've heard someone say, "Showing up is 80 percent of life." While I agree that showing up is incredibly important to be an exceptional leader (as outlined above), Thomas Edison's quote, "Genius is 1 percent inspiration, 99 percent perspiration," resonates with me a bit more. The only way to be a successful leader is to make a significant and meaningful impact on employees, industries, communities and the world. One must do the hard work of learning, making mistakes and transforming. Digging deep takes effort, transparency, discipline, resiliency and self-leadership. It will require you to ask for help and feedback. You may not always like what you see when you dig deep, but this is where the good stuff happens. Digging deep allows you to keep moving forward.
Make an impact
To be the kind of leader worth following, your purpose and passion must intersect with your vision and plan to execute. You must be an effective connector, communicator and problem solver. You must understand how to develop people so they can do their best work. You must be able to build a team, company and community. And finally, you must find the best platform to advance your cause, whether through brand building, impacting social change, policyshaping or simply creating a culture where people thrive, which has a profound ripple effect. The only way to create a powerful platform that affects real change is to cultivate deep self-awareness.
Like any leadership skill, reflecting forward requires practice and analysis, and when you work on it with intentionality, you see yourself with clearer eyes. When you put these three steps together, you can create profound change and impact. You can inspire others to believe in your vision and plan. You can live a life that is fulfilling and authentic.
For more information on this topic, contact Kerry Siggins at kerry.siggins@stoneagetools.com. To read her blog and subscribe to the "Reflect Forward" podcast, visit www.kerrysiggins.com.
