BREAKING BAD: The Power of Awareness in Leadership
Last week a client came into our coaching session saying, “I feel panicked and excited, and I’m not sure which to pick!” He was just told his team would be growing from 80 to 120—absorbing a new piece of business. As my client had just taken this expanded role of managing 80 people, and was “just getting acclimated”, he was worried he “was biting off more than he could chew”.
So we took a step back and slowed it down. Waaaay down.
This is where awareness is GOLD.
If leadership is defined as choice and ownership of choice—how do you make a choice if you are not fully aware of your options?
For my client, his head was abuzz. Should he say yes? How would he integrate these new team members while he was also seeking to reorganize his existing ones? It felt like too much … AND it was an opportunity he didn’t want to miss.
Together, we explored his core thought, which he wasn’t fully aware of until this conversation:
“I don’t think I can do this.”
Through our work together, he was able to see that he didn’t actually know yet whether he could or couldn’t do it. However, it was clear to him, he was willing to find out. This fresh thought created a completely different way of relating for him. It wasn’t just a change in words, a shift from muddled to curiosity and thrill came into focus. He completed our session with a whole new perspective—excited for what was to come.
At TMTT, we know that awareness is highly curative. When we slow down and get curious about our thinking, we inevitably see more clearly.
Are YOU ready to strengthen your awareness?
THE Leadership Lab:
The Four A’s OF leadership impact
In our world, leadership is a practice not a title.
Welcome to The Leadership Lab, a “5-minute-a-day” practice that supports you in learning, growing and strengthening your leadership skills.
Action: Choose an action that you feel would support your leadership and put a metric around it.
Example: I’m feeling overwhelmed by my “to-do” list. Action: I am taking 5 minutes in the morning to slow down and examine my thinking behind today’s to-do list—paying close attention to the “why” behind each item.
Awareness: After you’ve thought through your to-do list, complete this sentence: ”Through this exercise, I’m becoming aware of ______________. I’m also becoming aware of ______________.”
Example: Upon taking the above action, add awareness to your practice. You may discover that you tend to add a lot of extras or keep items that truly belong to someone else on your “to-do” list. Only you will know where your opportunity lies as you become more aware of what you populate your “to-do” list with.
Acknowledgment: Make sure to acknowledge yourself for practicing leadership. Self-judgment makes practices repellent—when we judge ourselves we’re less likely to continue our practice. However, self-appreciation and self-acknowledgment make practices “sticky”.
Example: Once you’ve taken action, and practiced awareness, include this stem sentence: “I acknowledge and appreciate myself for ______________ (effort as well as accomplishment).”
Accountability: One way of making our leadership practices even “stickier” is by sharing them.
Example: Complete this stem sentence: “I am sharing my practice and its insights with ______________ (a trusted confidant). I am also exploring further action with my trusted confidant, to deepen in steps 1–3.”
Remember, leadership is a practice, a journey of continuous improvement. Begin harnessing the power of awareness and watch your leadership transform.
Do the tasks on your to-do list align with your leadership goals? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
