The Hidden Advantage of Great Leaders

We've found that even though most people believe they are self-aware, self-awareness is a truly rare quality:  We estimate that only 10-15% of the people we studied actually fit the criteria.
Tasha Euric & Colleagues
What Self-Awareness Is (and How to Cultivate It)

Leadership without self-awareness is like navigating without a map—you might be moving, but are you headed in the right direction?  Research consistently shows that self-aware leaders are more confident and creative, make better decisions, foster stronger relationships, and create more effective teams.  Yet, self-awareness is more complex than simply "knowing oneself."  It comes in multiple forms, each offering unique insights into our leadership effectiveness.

The Two Dimensions of Self-Awareness: Internal & External
After conducting 10 separate investigations, surveying  nearly 5,000 people and hundreds of managers and their employees, and interviewing 50 people who significantly improved their self-awareness, Dr. Tasha Eurich and her colleagues made some surprising discoveries.

First, they uncovered two broad categories of self-awareness:

Internal self-awareness  is our ability to clearly see our values, passions, aspirations, and how we fit within our environment.  It also includes recognizing our thoughts, feelings, behaviors, strengths, and weaknesses—and how they affect others.  They've done the deep introspective work that  most of us associate with the classic Greek maxim, "know thyself."  Leaders high in this type of self-awareness were found to have higher job and relationship satisfaction, personal and social control, and were happier.

External self-awareness is our understanding of how others perceive us in those same areas. Leaders who lack external self-awareness may believe they are inspiring, decisive, or approachable, yet their teams may experience them differently.  However, leaders who actually are higher in this type of self-awareness are more skilled at empathy and seeing others' perspectives.  They actively seek feedback to try and understand how others see them.  Employees who work for high externally self-aware leaders had a better relationship with their leader, were more satisfied with them as a leader, and saw their leader as more effective.

They report other powerful findings and I encourage you to read the entire 2018 HBR article, What self-awareness is (and how to cultivate it).  

Beyond the Individual:  Personal & Collective Self-Awareness
Other research from Niklas K. Steffens and colleagues expands on Eurich’s framework by introducing:

Personal self-awareness—Our understanding of our own identity, behaviors, and motivations.

Collective self-awareness—Our ability to perceive and understand the dynamics, culture, and values of the groups we lead—what we might call a social, group, or team awareness.

They were trying to tease out the relationship of these two types of self-awareness on two factors:  How others perceived a leader's authenticity (or authentic leadership) and leader endorsement ("Do people want to follow you?"). 

While both forms of self-awareness contributed to perceived authentic leadership, it was personal self-awareness that contributed the most.  And conversely, while both forms of self-awareness contributed to leader endorsement, it was collective self-awareness that drove leader endorsement.  Their research suggests that leaders with high personal self-awareness but low collective self-awareness may struggle to gain full endorsement from their teams. 

Great leaders don’t just reflect inward; they tune into the collective pulse of their teams.  Those who master both personal and collective self-awareness create cultures of trust, collaboration, and resilience.  Leaders who cultivate both dimensions of awareness tend to be seen as more authentic, garnering stronger support and engagement from their organizations.  In other words, authenticity in leadership is not just about self-knowledge—it’s about aligning that knowledge with how you show up in a collective setting.

Bridging Insight into Action
Self-awareness is not just an intellectual exercise—it’s a leadership advantage.  Here’s how you can develop and leverage it:

Engage in Reflective Practices – Regular journaling, yoga, or mindfulness exercises can deepen your internal self-awareness.  I use a daily bookend approach.  As part of my morning ritual, I pull out my Life Mission/Leadership Philosophy & Core Values Statement and reflect on key elements and think about how I will live them well that day.  At the end of the day, I find at least three things I did that demonstrate living them well and one where I did not and what lessons I can learn from that experience moving forward.

Commit to Purpose-Driven Leadership – Aligning leadership decisions with personal purpose, values, principles, and organizational purpose ensures clarity in self-awareness. My Purpose-Driven Leadership Program expertly helps you boost both your both internal/personal and external/collective self-awareness—and more!  It not only guides you through the deep, introspective work of identifying, clarifying, and articulating your own internal/personal self-awareness and purpose, but it also guides you through the process of taking that to a team level.  Then, it helps you connect all of that to a Shared Team Vision, organizational mission, strategy, and goals and leverage it in your leadership.

Seek Honest Feedback – Tools like the Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI360) provide invaluable external self-awareness by revealing how others experience your leadership.  The LPI360 gives you clear and actionable answers to the question, "How do others see me as a leader?"

Invest in Coaching – A professional coaching partnership accelerates self-awareness development by challenging blind spots and reinforcing strengths.

The Vanguard Leadership Mastery Program
Embark on a transformational journey of leadership growth and excellence with The Vanguard Leadership Mastery Program.  Reserved for those leaders who want to make the greatest impact in the shortest time frame, this premier and one-of-a-kind program is meticulously crafted to propel leaders to unprecedented heights of success through a dynamic triad:

The Vanguard Leadership Mastery Triad

1) The enriching and engaging Purpose-Driven Leadership Program,

2) Executive-level Coaching, and;

3) An insightful LPI | 360 Leadership Assessment that has been trusted by over five million leaders worldwide.

Any one of the three strategies is powerful on its own.  When you combine all three, you exponentially increase the impact they have.  The Vanguard Leadership Mastery strategy leverages learning, coaching, and actionable feedback.

Let’s have a conversation about where you are in your leadership journey and how greater self-awareness can unlock your full potential.

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Have an amazing journey today!

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Alan Mikolaj is a seasoned coach and leadership development consultant with nearly 20 years of experience.  He is passionate about helping leaders transform their leadership, their teams, and their organizations.  He has an impactful, professional approach driven by a passion for meaning and purpose, a growth mindset, and a commitment to excellence and service in order to drive change and results.

Alan holds his Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology and Associate Certified Coach credential with the International Coaching Federation (ICF) and maintains their ethics and standards of behavior, including the standards regarding confidentiality.  You can learn more about them on the ICF website.

Transformational change starts with a conversation!
Schedule your free, one-hour session by clicking here: Discovery Conversation with Alan
Or call or email: Contact Page

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