Only 10%-15% of people truly understand themselves, yet mastering self-awareness can transform businesses and lives. Wits Plus can help you become part of that elite group
Empower your employees with one of the Wits Plus business-focused short courses. Image: 123RF/Mark Bowden
Self-awareness has become very important management buzzword. Research suggests that when we see ourselves more clearly, are more confident, make sounder decisions and communicate better. And in the world of work, that can result in more effective leaders with more satisfied employees and more profitable organizations.
On a more philosophical side, self-knowledge is vital, because it offers us a route to greater happiness, satisfaction and fulfilment. A lack of self-knowledge can leave one open to error ambitions. Armed with the right sort of self-knowledge, we have a immense chance of preventing errors in our dealings with others and in the life choices.
most people believe they are self-aware, self-awareness is quite a small quality: they estimate that only 10%-15% of the people they studied fit the criteria. For starters, they identified two types of self-awareness.
Diving deeper: the dual dimensions of self-awareness
The first — internal self-awareness — represents how clearly we see our own values, aspirations, our fit with our environment, reactions (including thoughts, feelings, behaviours, strengths and weaknesses), and our impact on others. The research found that internal self-awareness is associated with higher job and relationship satisfaction, personal and social control, and negatively related to stress and depression.
The research showed that people who know how others see them are more skilled at showing empathy and understanding others’ perspectives.
To complement the two types, they identified four leadership archetypes that map varying levels of internal and external self-awareness. This emphasises that self-awareness isn’t a single truth.
The philosophers believe that introspection is not given high prestige in our society; we’re rarely fostering to unpack our thoughts. Psychotherapy — the prime arena for analysing oneself — interests barely 1% of the population!
The Eurich Group’s research found the opposite to be true: that people who introspect are less self-aware and report worse job satisfaction, happiness, and overall wellbeing. The problem with introspection isn’t that it is categorically ineffective — it’s that most people are doing it incorrectly. The research showed that to increase productive self-insight and decrease unproductive rumination, we should ask “what” instead of “why”: “What” questions help us to stay objective, future-focused and empowered to act on our new insights.
Leaders in the workplace who focus on building both internal and external self-awareness, who seek honest feedback and who ask “what” instead of “why” can learn to see themselves more vividly — and reap the many rewards that increased self-knowledge delivers for the greater good.
Let us help you empower your employees for the unique demands of the digital-era workplace. The Wits Plus portfolio of business-focused short and language courses can be customised to be delivered in organization and to meet your specific organisational requirements.
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