Dictionary definition states self-awareness is good knowledge and judgment about yourself
There are two types of self-awareness – internal and external.
When we are talking self-awareness are we talking about the ego? Puffed up arrogance or confident attitude for instance. Yes, the ego is the self-aware part of an individual, the conscious aspects; it is how an individual portrays oneself and what motivates them. Their sense of self. But self-awareness is about understanding the unconscious aspects as well, not just the what but the why they are motivated in the way they are.
In handwriting the ego can be seen in the middle zone of writing, controlling other aspects, and in the sense of I.
Some decades ago, before I learned about graphology, I wrote to a number of clients, friends, and employees asking them to hold a mirror up to me and to describe what they saw. Foolhardy or what! But there was some interesting feedback to say the least. One of which viewed me as a swan graciously gliding along – head held high but with stacks of action underneath paddling furiously to maintain that impression. What did I take from that? – However hard it is to hide one’s vulnerabilities, others can still see them. So the need then was to be open, honest and to know when one’s skill set either needs to be improved or learn to delegate.
It can take courage to look deeply into yourself and assess our impact on others. In other words, self-awareness is a tool to objectively manage your beliefs, thoughts, emotions, decisions, and behaviours. Negative and Positive.
AS such the ability to understand how one’s personality, values, skills and behaviour can affect others is a sign of good leadership. Self-aware leaders will be heedful of their own strengths and weaknesses and how these play out in the workplace.
Self-awareness in leadership in conjunction with emotional intelligence helps leaders communicate more effectively, empathetically and connect with others promoting better outcomes.
Through developing a self-aware approach as a leader, it will strengthen not only individual routines, confidence, and creativity, but also organisational performance as well. Equipping the leader and organisation with new skills for success.
“By understanding the power of self-awareness, leaders can consciously access their emotional brain, allowing them to make better decisions and prevent intense reactions. Self-awareness enables leaders to remain calm and focussed, even in the midst of challenges, and empower them to inspire and guide their teams towards greater self-awareness.”
Through training with Ghost-Tree, graphology can help individuals learn self-awareness more effectively. Through understanding the environment, we grow up in and how that moulds us, highlighting the attributes which forms our identity, can prompt us to recognise how and why the actions and decisions we take are formed by our identity, the values we hold and the beliefs and skills we have learned.
“With Christina’s help I was able to have a really in depth understanding of myself that really helped with completing my assignment as well as being more aware of myself that will definitely help me in my every-day life as well as I know what areas I need to continue working on.” Aggie
