High Self-Awareness is Related to Better Leadership

The underrated management skill no one talks about

Something I observed during my own career is that my self-awareness has helped me in the leadership roles I took on. The more I developed my self-awareness, the better I was able to lead others. 

I also observed this with others in my periphery. The leaders that staff consistently disliked the most were people who were constantly unaware of how they came across, and how their words and actions impacted others.

That got me thinking: Is there research out there about self-awareness and leadership quality? That led me to a paper by Peter Hartung from the University of Applied Sciences, Kempten, Germany. 

They had published a literature review of multiple papers exploring the link between self-awareness and leadership, and the findings are pretty interesting. 

The Methodology

Hartung wanted to understand if a leader's self-awareness directly influences their effectiveness, particularly in motivating and satisfying their team and, ultimately, driving productivity. 

To get to the bottom of this, they embarked on a journey that involved combing through existing literature on leadership models, personality traits, emotional intelligence, and, of course, self-awareness. 

They then gathered data from a diverse group of professionals using a survey designed to measure how well leaders perform various leadership tasks. The survey included questions on employee motivation, satisfaction, and productivity, as well as various aspects of self-awareness.

 After refining the dataset to ensure normality, he analyzed 102 responses using descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis, and Pearson correlation analysis.

The Results

The first thing they noticed is that there is scope for a lot more research on the topic of self-awareness and leadership. However, the amount of research we do have points towards things that are quite compelling. 

The findings are both intriguing and potentially game-changing for tech leaders. Despite a surprisingly low volume of existing research on self-awareness and leadership behavior, the 127 studies Hartung reviewed consistently confirmed a strong positive impact of self-awareness on leadership effectiveness.

More specifically, the study revealed significant correlations between two key components of self-awareness - morale and self-transparency - and other important leadership factors. 

This suggests that leaders who are more in tune with their own emotions and motivations, and who can accurately assess their strengths and weaknesses, are likely to be more effective in their roles.

These findings align with previous research, reinforcing the notion that self-aware leaders are more effective.

What can we take away from this?

In my opinion, it underscores the importance of cultivating self-awareness as a core leadership skill. This isn't just about understanding our technical strengths and weaknesses, but also about recognizing our emotional states, our impact on others, and our underlying motivations.

Practically speaking, we might consider incorporating regular self-reflection practices into our routines. This could involve journaling, seeking feedback from peers and team members, or even working with a coach. Voohy has a wonderful science-backed work journal that uses the principles of affect labeling to develop better self-awareness and emotional regulation. 

Tools like 360-degree feedback assessments can also provide valuable insights into how others perceive us, helping to bridge the gap between our self-perception and our actual impact.

As leaders, though, we also have to think beyond just tools. We have to think of making cultural changes in the way we operate and manage others. We might encourage team members to engage in their own self-reflection practices or provide training on emotional intelligence.

It's worth noting that while the study's findings are promising, they're not definitive. The research in this area is still limited, and more studies are needed to fully understand the relationship between self-awareness and leadership effectiveness. However, given the potential benefits and the low risk involved in developing greater self-awareness, it seems like a worthwhile investment for any tech leader looking to enhance their effectiveness.

Leaders have a bigger 'blast radius'. Understanding the impact of our words, actions and overall behavior affects not just them but many others. By turning our analytical skills inward, we may just unlock new levels of leadership effectiveness and drive our teams and organizations to greater success.