Building Self-Awareness

Self-awareness is the ability to be conscious of your emotions and the way you behave and act. This is a vital skill in the workplace, especially in leadership and management roles. Being self-aware allows you to understand how others may perceive you and can help you tailor communications to colleagues and improve how you compose yourself. It is a component of high emotional intelligence.

Those with poor self-awareness may encounter more conflicts and misunderstandings within their team. They may struggle to understand that their behaviour can negatively impact others and can come across as arrogant or clueless.

How can you improve your self awareness?

Identify your strengths and weaknesses. This may include undertaking self-assessments or asking for feedback from colleagues. You may discover things about yourself that you dislike, but do not immediately brush these to the side. Instead, use this as an opportunity for improvement and learn to view yourself more objectively. It can be a humbling and insightful process.

Recognise what makes you react negatively. Being able to pinpoint emotional triggers can help you regulate your emotions and prepare yourself in stressful situations. By recognising that strong, instinctive responses can be inappropriate in the workplace and understanding why something makes you feel that way, you will be able to avoid embarrassing reactions or needless conflict with others. Instead of suppressing emotions, learn to manage them more effectively.

Consider the effects of your behaviour and actions on other people. It can be easy to say something without thinking first and not consider how others may receive it. Reflecting on how your emotions can affect other people will help you to stay focused and earn respect from your colleagues and misunderstandings can be avoided. Having empathy and the capacity to step back and see yourself from another’s perspective can be eye-opening.

Learn from experience. Take time to look back on past scenarios at work and ask yourself why things went well or badly. Acknowledging times where you acted negatively can be awkward but is necessary for growth. Improvement won’t happen overnight and requires patience and commitment; learn from past behaviours and strive to do better.

If you are interested in learning more, the Development Zone a range of courses related to topics we have touched on in this article, including:

If you are new to the Aviva Development Zone, we offer a 14-day free trial where you can try every feature and every course! Click here to find out more: https://mydevelopment.zone/

About the author

Regine joined RWA between 2021-2023 having graduated from Loughborough University with a 2:1 in Graphic Communication and Illustration. As a Digital Content Assistant, Regine used their graphic design and illustration experience to create engaging e-learning modules. 

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