Self-awareness, contrary to what you might think, is not a quality you can build all by yourself. If you are looking to become a more self-aware leader, you need the help and input of your team in order to achieve that goal!
A marker of a great team is that they are looking out for you, as their manager. They want to see you succeed in your role, because that in turn means that they will succeed under your leadership. So don’t hesitate to ask for their help!
It may feel a little uncomfortable or unconventional, but asking your team for feedback will not only improve your self-awareness, it will let them feel seen and heard. Plenty of leaders can become self-important if they’re not careful, and don’t want to hear criticisms from their subordinates. But by showing humility and openness to constructive feedback, your employees will respect you all the more.
Taking these steps requires vulnerability. The journey to self-awareness starts with being vulnerable enough to say “I need help, and I can’t better myself without your help!”
One example of a method to collect feedback is a survey or review. Businesses often send out company-wide surveys at the beginning or end of a year, to collect feedback from their employees about their likes and dislikes of the company, and to gauge their feelings about the current workplace environment. If you are able to put together a form that keeps your team’s identities anonymous, you can ask them to provide feedback, positive or negative, without feeling self-conscious or embarrassed to do so. This will provide a space for your team to speak freely, and give you a chance to get honest answers on how you could improve your leadership.
If you wanted to take a more informal approach, you could plan to have more two-way conversations with your team in their next performance reviews or one-on-ones. Even though these meetings might usually be focused on your employee, you can switch it up and ask them a question or two about how you could improve, or how they think you could support them more effectively.
Every good leader learns when and how to change and improve their approach. That begins with the willingness to become self-aware. These are a few ideas to get you started on the journey, but shifting your mindset to one of vulnerability and humility will take you farther than any method or project.