There was a season in my career when I thought self-awareness was simply about knowing my strengths and weaknesses. I’m still learning the hard way how easily our emotional triggers can lead us: how quickly uncertainty, fear, pride, or exhaustion can speak louder than our best intentions.
I’m am also still unlearning my own patterns and catching the small reactions that once ran beneath my awareness. I make mistakes, sometimes the same ones twice, but I’ve learned that self-awareness isn’t about never losing balance. It’s about learning how to come back to center with a little more grace each time.
The truth is, we are conditioned to chase perfection as if it were a destination, but self-awareness in leadership does not appear to work that way. The real work is in the journey: in showing up, learning, unlearning, and trying again. Progress, not perfection, is what shapes our character. Every step we take toward awareness is a reminder that the journey itself is the becoming.
I hope you like Week 1: The Inner Work of Leadership: Knowing Yourself First, and would love to hear your thoughts on the topic.
The Inner Work of Leadership: Knowing Yourself First
