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How Strong Is Your Leadership Core?

Having a strong muscle core makes it easier for your body to do everything else.  Likewise, having a strong leadership core makes it easier for you and those you lead. A strong leadership core is what we at maximy call having everyone being focused on being the Best Possible Leader they can be and that starts with high self-awareness and disciplined self-management, without which, we believe it is not possible to be a great leader.

Most of us think we understand ourselves well. However, according to a four-year study defining the criteria of what it takes to be self-aware and assessing 5,000 participants, around 10% could be called 'self-aware' against high standards in the criteria. Yet high self-awareness of your thoughts, feelings, strengths, weaknesses, values, passions and impact on others, is significantly linked to higher job and relationship satisfaction, personal / social control, and happiness; it is negatively related to anxiety, stress, and depression1.

Why do only 10% of us know ourselves well? Well, we might be aware of some of our thoughts and behaviours but cognitive neuroscientists2 have conducted studies that have revealed that most of our cognitive activities (decisions, emotions, actions) and our behaviours are unconscious, driven by our genes, culture, upbringing, biases, attitudes – things outside our awareness. We need to reflect and ask others about their observations of us to become more conscious, aware, to know our impact and how our behaviour affects others. Yet not many of us go around asking for others' observations that much and when we do, it takes courage to examine the quality of our thinking, our biases and face our impact on others. There isn't a shortcut to self-awareness. It requires deep, and often painful, self-reflection. It is a life-time’s work as we change and the world around us changes. Doing such work, however, will equip us, others and the planet to adapt well and thrive.

Self-awareness predicts executive success and financial performance3,4

The science is clear: when you develop your self-awareness and self-management further, these ten activities will be easier.

  1. Identifying opportunities and addressing threats
  2. Living a life with purpose and meaning
  3. Reaping the benefits of your intelligences, skills and strengths
  4. Managing your self-confidence so that it enables rather than derails you
  5. Developing Emotional Intelligence – understanding why people do what they do and feel as they do
  6. Influencing and collaborating with others in supportive relationships
  7. Creating great habits
  8. Achieving your goals and delivering on your promises – whilst managing your wellbeing and resilience
  9. Improving your authenticity as a leader and that is linked to followership trust5
  10. Improving the financial performance of your unit/organisation

Which of that list is most pertinent to you?

So, how can you develop your leadership core – understand and manage yourself better?

Most of us think we are self-aware, but the research shows most of us are not. When someone asks us  “Are you self-aware and can you effectively self-manage?” it can be very difficult to answer. What does it mean to be self-aware and self-manage? They can feel like very fuzzy concepts. At maximy, we have addressed this.

Based on doctorate research and experience of working with highly successful leaders from corporate life, entrepreneurs, military chiefs and Olympians, we know what it means to be self-aware, and what enables and constrains success and wellbeing. We have created a robust and cohesive framework to assess and develop exceptionally high self-awareness and self-management skills. It is a personal analytics centre of your future success. It is made up of 10 areas around learning the leading-edge knowledge, reflecting and skill development in:

  1. Defining Your Success & Wellbeing (life and career analysis and strategy)
  2. Self-Concepts (self-confidence, self-esteem, self-efficacy, internal-locus-of-control, and self-compassion)
  3. Strengths, Weaknesses and Vulnerabilities
  4. Beliefs, Values, Attitudes, Mindsets and Attributions of Others
  5. Interests, Passions and Motivations
  6. Your Intelligences & Neurodiversity
  7. Personality (understanding and management)
  8. Mental & Emotional Health, Physical Health and Habits
  9. Knowledge, Skills & Capabilities
  10. Your Personal Brand

The solution is offered through how people now like to learn: a blended menu of assessments, full courses or bite-sized offerings in different modalities (online, podcasts, audiobooks, books, courses, events, coaching, group coaching, peer social learning).

Just pause and ask yourself: “What would be the benefits if I increased my self-awareness and self-management abilities by 5%? 10%? 20%?”

“How about if I help others, in my personal life and at work, increase their self-awareness & self-management?”

Just imagine a world where….all members of families, organisations and communities, increased their self-awareness and self-management. What would this look like? How would it feel? What impact would it have? At maximy, we are committed to helping ensure that self-awareness and self-management are seen and treated as a core success measure for students leaving education, and that understanding and managing yourself are seen as core to lifelong learning and development.

As you now know, it is how well you understand and manage yourself, the strengths of your leadership core that will determine your level of success and wellbeing. What are you waiting for? We are ready to help you become the Best Possible Leader you can be.    

Contact one of our founders [email protected]     

You can also check out our website where there is more information https://www.maximy.life/understanding-and-managing-yourself

Written by Deborah Tom, Chartered Fellow of the British Psychological Society, Chartered Fellow CIPD, Chartered Manager CMI, Registered Management Consultant CMC and Master Coach (Associate for Coaching).

 

References

1   Eurich, T., 2018. What self-awareness really is (and how to cultivate it). Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2018/01/what-self-awareness-really-is-and-how-to-cultivate-it

 

2    Morsella, E., Godwin, C.A., Jantz, T.K., Krieger, S.C. and Gazzaley, A., 2016. Homing in on consciousness in the nervous system: An action-based synthesis. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 39.

 

3  Flaum, J.P., 2009. When it comes to business leadership, nice guys finish first. Talent Management Online in What Predicts Executive Success. Green Peak & Cornell  University 2010

 

4   Zes, D., Landis, D., Briefings 17. The Latest Thinking, A Better Return on Self-Awareness, Korn Ferry

 

5  Kouzes, J.M. and Posner, B.Z., 2006. The leadership challenge (Vol. 3). John Wiley & Sons.

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