What Self-Awareness Really Is (and How to Cultivate It)

04/02/24 • 36 min

1 Listener

Dr Nia Thomas is a thought leader in self-aware leadership and practices self-aware leadership every single day in her role as Director in a Children’s Charity.
She has an allergic reaction when she hears the phrase ‘you shouldn’t care what anyone else thinks’.

We talked about the perils of heeding that advice and how to avoid going the other way and becoming a total people pleaser!

Topics we covered:

How to become aware of your blind spots.
The pros and cons of 360 feedback.
The cautions around self-awareness. How to avoid overthinking every encounter you have with your team.
How you can be an authentic leader whilst taking others' opinions into account.
How to judge when constructive feedback is useful or noise that should be disregarded.
How can leaders navigate the fine line between caring about others' thoughts and maintaining their authenticity?

Find out more about Dr Nia Thomas: https://knowingselfknowingothers.co.uk/

And connect with her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nia-d-thomas/

Get your free copy of my Leader's Guide to Increasing Your Impact, Influence & Free Time here: www.visibly-different.co.uk/increasing-your-impact

And if you enjoyed the Podcast, please share with someone who might benefit and leave a rating and review.

We talked about the perils of heeding that advice and how to avoid going the other way and becoming a total people pleaser!

Topics we covered:

How to become aware of your blind spots.
The pros and cons of 360 feedback.
The cautions around self-awareness. How to avoid overthinking every encounter you have with your team.
How you can be an authentic leader whilst taking others' opinions into account.
How to judge when constructive feedback is useful or noise that should be disregarded.
How can leaders navigate the fine line between caring about others' thoughts and maintaining their authenticity?

Find out more about Dr Nia Thomas: https://knowingselfknowingothers.co.uk/

And connect with her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nia-d-thomas/

Get your free copy of my Leader's Guide to Increasing Your Impact, Influence & Free Time here: www.visibly-different.co.uk/increasing-your-impact

And if you enjoyed the Podcast, please share with someone who might benefit and leave a rating and review.

Previous Episode

The Secret to Showing Vulnerability Without Losing Your Credibility

Dr Katharina Schmidt completed an executive MBA at Kellogg Business School and then for the next 20 years had an international career with various professional services firms before she started her own business as an Executive Coach & Leadership Team Developer.

She’s lived all over the world and speaks 5 languages fluently. And she had a career as a professional volleyball player!

We talked about Confidence and Vulnerability – and how to show both as a leader to build trust in your team.

We covered:

The link between vulnerability and psychological safety
The right balance between confidence and vulnerability
What being a vulnerable leader actually sounds like
How imposter syndrome fits into the picture of confidence and vulnerability
What experiments you can try that will encourage you (and everyone around you) to be more vulnerable and build trust

Find out more about Dr Katharina Schmidt: https://www.inspirationanddiscipline.com

And connect with her:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-katharina-schmidt-psyd-343612/

Click here to get your free copy of my Leader's Guide to Increasing Your Impact, Influence & Free Time

Next Episode

The Power of Weekly (Yes Weekly!) 1-2-1s : Dr Steven Rogelberg Shares Research-Backed Strategies

Dr. Steven Rogelberg is an organizational psychologist whose award-winning research into meetings led to the publication of the highly successful book The Surprising Science of Meetings.

And again, he’s taken that research-based approach with his latest book – the excellent Glad We Met: The Art and Science of 1:1 meetings.

In this episode we challenge the idea that 1:1s are an optional extra for team members who ‘need’ them - and offer a framework for how to get started.

We talk about:

What the research says and why 121s matter to your team members
Whether you can be too senior to need a 121.
What leaders are getting wrong.
The mechanics of what a good 121 should look like.
How to get started for leaders and for HR

You can find resources on Dr. Steven Rogelberg’s website: www.stevenrogelberg.com

And find his book here: Glad We Met: The Art and Science of 1:1 Meetings

Click here to get your free copy of my Leader's Guide to Increasing Your Impact, Influence & Free Time [www.visibly-different.co.uk/increasing-your-impact]

And if you enjoyed the Podcast, please share with someone who might benefit and leave a rating and review.