Fostering Self-Awareness
Aristotle said, “Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom."
I’m guessing you appreciate how foundational self-awareness is to being a lifelong learner and seeker of wisdom.
The demands of both our professional and personal lives make self-awareness absolutely critical to our capability, our development, our ability to thrive and work sustainably.
Navigating the world of healthcare and the community sector is continual juggling. We're always trying to keep many balls in the air – caring for our clients, keeping up with the latest evidence, keeping up with admin, maintaining relationships with the community and colleagues, and looking after our teams.
Amidst all this, staying connected to, and aware of ourselves is quite a challenge. We are often so ‘attention out’, it is hard to foster self-awareness, and even harder to model it and foster it in our colleagues.
In leadership and supervision programs, I’m often asked about how to foster self-awareness in others. One of the stories I sometimes share is about one of my supervisees, Alex.
Alex supervises a team at a busy allied health clinic. Alex notices that Jordan, one of their team members, seems a bit off their game – not quite engaging and a bit distant. At first, Alex thought it might be personal stuff or maybe work stress.
After a bit of reflection, Alex realises that supervision sessions with Jordan had fallen into a bit of a benign rut. Supervision had become a tick-the-box exercise, it was not the deeply reflective space it potentially could be.
So, Alex intentionally switches gears, guiding supervision more towards self-reflection, taking time to develop greater focus and appreciation of Jordan’s skills and strengths and a deeper exploration of Jordan’s learning opportunities. This was a far cry from the habit they had fallen into, which was just working through a list of problems.
Not surprisingly Jordan’s professional engagement started to build. They were finding a new sense of purpose and meaning in their work and were deepening their own insights and actively engaged in their own learnings.
Lessons to learn
The roadblocks to building self-awareness in colleagues and supervisees are varied and multifaceted:
Lack of time
Feeling overwhelmed
Sticking to the same old routine,
Not making space for invaluable self-reflection.
And let's not forget, the discomfort that can accompany introspection can lead to resistance, making it a less travelled road for many.
But here's the key, the value of nurturing self-awareness in our colleagues and supervisees extends far beyond individual growth. Not only does it have individual benefits, it fosters a culture of continuous learning and improvement, enhances empathy towards clients, and strengthens the team's resilience in facing the constant healthcare challenges.
Self-aware staff are better equipped to manage stress, adapt to change, set clearer boundaries and contribute to a supportive and collaborative work environment.
So, how do we get there? Here are a few of the myriad of ways to model and build self-awareness into your leadership or supervision style:
1. Make Time for Reflection: Carve out moments for yourself and your colleagues to think back on their day-to-day – the ups, the downs, and everything in between. We need to give permission for the necessity of self-reflection and model ways of doing this through a journal, a chat, or a team huddle. Reflection is gold.
2. Lead by Example: Show your team how it's done by sharing your own reflections, insights and 'aha' moments. It's not about taking up space, but it is about showing that we're all on this professional learning journey together.
3. Feedback is Your Friend: Offer feedback that's empowering, often positive, skill and strength based and sometimes guiding growth and development. And make sure it's a two-way street; we can all learn from each other.
4. Build a Trusting Space: Create an environment where everyone feels psychologically safe to share and be themselves. This means empathy, listening, and just being there for each other as humans.
By weaving these strategies into your daily leadership and supervisory style, you're not just guiding your team; you're empowering them to discover their best selves. And in doing so, you're laying down the foundation for a team that's not only skilled but also deeply connected and resilient.
One of the key elements of my presentations, team-building, leadership and supervision programs is self-awareness. It is the foundation for how we grow, develop, and take personal responsibility for what is our own stuff.
If you would like to chat more about how I can bring greater self-awareness to your workplace, please reply and we’ll make a time to discuss.