I think a lot about leadership. I suppose it’s one of the hazards of consulting for a leadership firm. I walk the world with my eyes wide open to different leadership styles. Our client engagements expose me to leaders of every stripe and reinforce my basic belief that the best leaders are those that are most self-aware. I am impressed by leaders that make a deliberate choice about how they want to interact with the world based on what they know about their strengths and weaknesses as leaders. I always think leaders that aren’t self-aware are clumsy in their approach to leadership. They treat some employees indifferently. They don’t know what they are trying to achieve. And they certainly don’t know how to harness the resources at their command.
I have had the opportunity to meet and work with many great leaders at different points along their leadership journeys. During these meetings, the discussion inevitably turns to the question of what is the first step in becoming a truly effective leader. In response, I usually ask leaders to reflect on a different question: Are you the type of leader that people will follow – even if they have other options? This leads to the question of whether they are willing to make a personal commitment to excellence. Being self-aware is so critical to leadership, but it is only a first step.
There are a few key components to being self-aware. Although some leaders may be self-aware, they may not have the “desire” to change because they do not see a reason to change or like the way they lead, regardless, as they say, of the unintended but unavoidable consequences of their actions. Some leaders have the desire, but lack the “discipline” to remain self-aware, and they let their preferences, tendencies, biases and/or blind spots lead them astray. Only leaders who have the desire and discipline to act on their self-awareness can have the greatest impact on their teams and organizations.
In his books and speeches, Mike Abrashoff talks about leaving a leadership legacy. What I like best about his idea of a leadership legacy is that it’s not about reaching some pinnacle of success. Of course great leaders often reach successful heights, but Mike’s idea of a leadership legacy is about leaving a workplace and its employees better off than when a leader first arrives. Ultimately, I believe that even though different leaders seek different outcomes, successful leadership journeys are built upon on the level of self-awareness a leader can attain.
