RMIT Classification: Trusted

BUSM2411
Leadership & Management

Topic 5: Self Awareness

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• Self leadership begins with self awareness. We will explore a range of

ways into deepening self- awareness as a means to improving
effectiveness.

• We are not pursuing self-awareness for its own sake; instead, we are
focusing upon the ways in which effective managerial leaders need to
be self-aware, particularly in relation to self leadership.

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Importance of Self Awareness 1

• Self awareness/self knowledge has been shown to be a key

factor that differentiates successful from less successful
leaders/managers – see Cherniss “The Business Case for
Emotional Intelligence” www.eiconsortium.org
• In order to be a successful leader/manager you need to
know what your strengths & weaknesses, skills, values and
interests are (Drucker, 2005)
• The three dimensions of self awareness: (a) emotional
awareness (emotional intelligence), (2) self assessment and
(3) self confidence (Goleman, 2004)

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Importance of Self Awareness 2

• Turnover: In many cases employees leave managers not

organisations!
• Managers need to be effective at developing positive
relations (leadership) with their employees to reduce
turnover. Good leadership starts with self-awareness (Gold
et al., 2010, p. 19).

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Importance of Self Awareness 3

- manage conflict - provide

support/coaching
- build trust (autonomy) - know how to listen
- acknowledge good work - assertiveness
- consult & collaborate - humour
- deal with politics - tolerate mistakes

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How To Gain Self Awareness 1

Others Self
Perception Diverse
Feedback Disclosure Experiences
Social Mirror

Self
Awareness

Self Analysis ________

Behaviour Personality Attitudes Perceptions
modes of thinking Traits stereotypes
modes of acting Factors projections
modes of interacting expectations
motivation interests

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How To Gain Self Awareness

1. Analysing our own experiences

2. Looking at ourselves through the eyes of others
3. Self-disclosure
4. Acquiring diverse experiences
5. Increasing emotional intelligence
6. Learning from mistakes
7. Checking for defensiveness
8. Seeking feedback
9. Checking assumptions

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Authentic-Leadership

George, Sims, McLean & Mayer (2007)

“The journey to authentic leadership begins with understanding the story of

your life.”

“All of us have the spark of leadership in us, whether it is in business, in

government, or as a non-profit volunteer. The challenge is to understand
ourselves well enough to discover where we can use our leadership gifts to
serve others.”

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Workplace: Performance Development Tool

1
0
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Evolution of The MBTI® Instrument

was developed by
Katharine C. Briggs
and her daughter
Isabel Briggs Myers
1943, based on the work of
Swiss psychologist
C. G. Jung, who presented his psychological
type theory in his book Psychological
11 Types
(published 1921, translated into English 11
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Users of the MBTI ® Instrument

70+ 2m 30+
countries people p.a. language
12 s
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The personality test

https://www.16personalities.com/free-personality-test

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References

• George, B., Sims, P., McLean, A.N., & Mayer, D.

(2007). Discovering Your Authentic Leadership,
Harvard Business Review, 85(2), 129.
• McDonald, M.G. (2008). The nature of epiphanic
experience. Journal of Humanistic Psychology,
48(1), 89-115.
• Quinn, R., Faerman, S., Thompson, M., McGrath, M., &
Bright, D. (2015). Becoming a master manager (6th
ed.). John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken NJ.

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