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Leadership Self-Awareness Clears the Fog!


Great leaders prevent their weaknesses from becoming paralyzing blind spots. This leadership self-awareness fosters employee self-awareness and creates a high performance culture.

Leadership Self-Awareness: Lies Weak Leaders Bequeath to Everyone Image by Martin Fisch.

Grateful for image by Martin Fisch via Flickr Creative Commons License.

Leadership Self-Awareness: 13 Lies Weak Leaders Bequeath to Everyone

When leaders are not self-aware, they hold the organization back from its true potential. Let’s consider some of the common examples.

1. I hired the arrogant overbearing candidate because I can be up front with them. With excellent people skills, you can be up front with all your employees. Why do you think you can’t be? Organizational success depends on respectful openness and conversations that move things forward. Develop some leadership self-awareness so you don’t bequeath your fear to the organization.




2. I make all the decisions because my team is immature. Well then who is developing them? Immaturity doesn’t mean people can’t mature. Great leaders model and mentor. Show courage to be accountable even when you are not directly responsible. Otherwise you leave a legacy of un-empowered employees.




3. I give people endless chances to develop a great attitude because I’m kind. Or is it that you want to be liked? You can be kind and firm in addressing a persistent bad attitude. Address the bad attitude so you don’t bequeath it to the entire team to endure.




4. I won’t fire people because I have integrity. Firing people doesn’t mean you lack integrity. If you must let someone go, know and communicate the reasons. Running from your responsibilities while you still hold the position leaves a difficult void.




5. Extroverts don’t think things through. This old myth reveals your unwillingness to appreciate and lead diverse people. It under utilizes the talent already hired and disengages employees. Respect the differences or you create a homogeneous culture of intolerance.




6. Introverts slow team success. Introverts don’t work more slowly nor do they slow team success. Your discomfort with quiet thinking is the true issue here. Develop some leadership self-awareness to move past your limits. Otherwise you leave much talent untapped.




7. There is no I in team. Of course there is. There are many “I’s” in team who contribute their talents to the whole. This old maxim shows a desire to command and control. Inspire and appreciate each team member or you leave the teams less engaged than they could be.




8. Pessimism and negativity are healthy. Skepticism and critical thinking can be healthy. Pessimism and negativity are toxic. Are you mistaking one for the other or are you uncomfortable in highly positive environments. Develop more leadership self-awareness to address this culture issue!




9. Collaboration is risky because everybody thinks the same thing. Collaboration is not mindless agreement. People explore many possibilities as they work together. Could it be that you are highly competitive and uncomfortable around collaborators? In truth, people don’t have to be competitive for the organization to win. Collaborators are stronger than you think.




10. Teamwork is important BUT this employee produces. If you have fallen into this trap, you’ve declared that individual performance matters, teamwork doesn’t. This can be the death knell for teamwork. People will see that you recognize non-team playing mavericks and teamwork erodes.




11. Emotional intelligence is a bunch of nonsense. Leaders who say this show their lack of emotional intelligence. Self-awareness and awareness of others’ needs impact results. Emotional intelligence is at the heart of great leadership. If you push your way around without it, talent leaves. You create a legacy of high turnover.




12. I can’t lead change because you can’t change people. You are telling the world that you don’t know how to lead change. Leading change is about inspiring people under new conditions to create the next success. If you don’t lead it, you abandon everyone in the chaos of change. Step up, inspire, discover your influence, and lead change.




13. My teams know I appreciate them. I don’t have to say it. Showing appreciation is not an update to communicate the unknown. It is the oxygen that keeps people going in good times and bad. Develop some leadership self-awareness around your attitude toward showing appreciation. Otherwise you bequeath a culture of under-appreciated employees and their less then stellar performance.

From my professional experience to your success,
Kate Nasser, The People Skills Coach™

Related Posts:

Leadership People Skills: 5 Essentials to Spark Team Agility
Are You An Annoying Maverick or Team Player?

©2014-2019 Kate Nasser, CAS, Inc. Somerville, NJ. I appreciate your sharing the link to this post on your social streams. However, if you want to re-post or republish the content of this post, please email info@katenasser.com for permission and guidelines. Thank you for respecting intellectual capital.

Kate Nasser, The People Skills Coach™, delivers coaching, consulting, training, and keynotes on leading change, employee engagement, teamwork, and delivering the ultimate customer service. She turns interaction obstacles into interpersonal success. See this site for workshop outlines, keynote footage, and customer results.

Tags: appreciation, beliefs, collaboration, communication, emotional intelligence, extravert, introvert, leaders, Leadership, lies, management, managers, people skills, self-awareness, thriving in change, vision, weakness