One of my favourite TEDx Talks is by Tasha Eurich, a PhD in Industrial – Organizational Psychology from Colorado State University. The topic, Increase your self-awareness with one simple fix got me thinking, – what could be that one simple fix to enhance self – awareness? Dr. Tasha describes self – awareness as “knowing who we are and how we’re seen by others,“ Her research revealed that self – aware leaders are confident, creative, communicate effectively, build strong relationships, and perform well in the organization. Surprisingly, her research indicated that 95% of individuals think that they are self-aware. However, only 10 – 15% of individuals are self – aware.
According to Dr. Tasha, Introspection is “reflecting on why we are the way we are?” There is an assumption that analysing the causes of our thoughts, behaviours and actions leads to enhanced self-awareness. Interestingly, research reveals that people who introspect are less self-aware, and dissatisfied with their job. Also, self – analysing leads to depression, anxiety, and poor well – being.
Dr. Tasha’s research indicated that people are introspecting in a wrong way. We introspect by asking “why” to understand our emotions, attitudes, and behaviours. With simple and easy to understand examples, Dr. Tasha explains the importance of asking ‘what’ questions instead of ‘why’ questions to enhance self – awareness. Because, ‘why’ questions lead to over analysing ourselves, being self – critical and thinking negatively about self and ‘what’ questions keeps us objective and motivate us to work on our insights. Leaders who are self – aware, take feedback from others and ask ‘what’ questions instead of ‘why’ questions. It is a continuous journey of reflecting and developing oneself. One of the examples really caught my attention : Nathan, who received a poor performance review from his boss – and instead of thinking ‘why’ he received his score; he asked himself, ‘what can I do to show my boss that I am the best person for this job?’ This change in perspective resulted in a strong relationship with his boss.
Listen to this TEDx Talk by Dr. Tasha Eurich if you really want to increase your self – awareness.
