Have you been sticking to those tiny Kaizen steps we talked about in our Jan Blog last month. February is the perfect time to talk about a skill that sits right at the heart of brilliant leadership: Self-Awareness.
Being a great manager isn’t about having all the answers; it’s about knowing exactly what kind of manager you are and understanding how you show up for your team. It’s your secret weapon, your real-life superpower!
The Three Pillars of Knowing Thyself
So, how do you actually get self-aware? We find it usually rests on three powerful pillars that work brilliantly together: DISC, Coaching, and Emotional Intelligence (EI).
1. Understanding Your Style: The Magic of DISC
Have you ever wondered why sometimes you clash with a colleague, or why one management approach lands brilliantly with one person but completely flops with another? Often, it comes down to style!
We use tools like DISC because they give us a clear language for understanding our natural tendencies. Are you more of a steady ‘S’, an influential ‘I’, a dominating ‘D’, or a detail-focused ‘C’? Knowing your own profile (and respecting others’) is step one. It stops you from trying to lead everyone the way you like to be led!
2. The Mirror of Coaching
While DISC tells you what you generally do, 1-2-1 coaching shows you what you are doing right now. A good coach acts as a neutral mirror, holding up reflections of your behaviour that you might miss when you’re deep in the weeds.
A Real Lesson: Through coaching many leaders who, for example, have a dominant ‘Decisive D’ style, may find that while this is great for urgency, it can accidentally shut down quieter, thoughtful team members. Self-awareness here is recognising: “Ah, when I interrupt, I’m not trying to be rude, but I am cutting off valuable input. I need to pause.”
3. Emotional Intelligence: The Glue That Holds It Together
This is where the magic happens. Emotional Intelligence (EI) is essentially self-awareness in action. It’s the ability to recognise your own emotions (Self-Awareness) and then manage how you react to them (Self-Regulation).
Inspiration: Think about a stressful moment last week. Did you snap? Did you withdraw? EI is learning to notice that surge of frustration before it becomes a snap. That pause, that moment of choice. That’s leadership.
Why This Matters to Your Team
When you work on your self-awareness, you’re not just polishing your own skills; you’re setting the standard for your entire team.
- You become less reactive: Your team feels safer because you’re predictable (in a good way!)
- Your delegation improves: You know which tasks suit your strengths and which ones you should hand over.
- Your feedback is better: You can frame challenging conversations around behaviour rather than personality, making it much easier to hear.
It’s not about being perfect; it’s about being honest with yourself about where you are right now.
Your February Challenge
This month, we want you to focus on one moment each day where you notice an emotion rising (frustration, impatience, excitement). Before you speak or act, ask yourself: “What is this emotion telling me, and is my planned reaction the most helpful one?”
That simple moment of checking in, that’s your superpower charging up!
What’s one behaviour you’ve noticed recently that you want to understand better? Let us know below!
Keep exploring, keep leading!
The Athena Evolve Team