Saturday, January 14, 2017

A520.1.3.RB - Self-Awareness


Self-Awareness So Far…

Whetten & Cameron define five core aspects of Self-Awareness (Whetten & Cameron, 2016) that, to me, at this relatively early stage of my studies in Embry Riddle Aeronautical University’s Master of Science in Leadership degree (MSLD), are only just beginning to come into focus. This is my third class in the degree program, which will constitute a cumulative of nine credit hours toward the 36 credit hours required for graduation. What I believe has occurred thus far for me is a growing awareness of at least some of the five core aspects of Self-Awareness: emotional intelligence, values, cognitive style, attitude toward change, and core self-evaluation. I’d like to address each of these five in reverse order in this short blog.

Self-evaluation is like a tape that is always running just beneath the surface on a personal level. Although I have only been exposed to a single, formal self-evaluation tool (the Myers-Briggs Type Inventory), I have taken that assessment multiple times throughout my career. My results have shown that I started as an INTJ (introverted) and over the years have drifted into the ENTJ (extroverted) realm. I think that this change has occurred over the years due to the necessity of having to learn how to better work with people and, as I got practice with business and other, social type relationships, some fundamental changes took place in my personality. But beyond the MBTI assessment, in my line of work there are always “lessons learned” endeavors or “hot-washes” after every major undertaking, briefing, or meeting with senior leadership that seek to understand and analyze what took place and how we could have done things better. In those respects, self-evaluation is a routine part of my professional life. In the courses that I have taken so far in this Master’s program, critical thinking (e.g., walking around “the circle”) and a class that dealt with leadership styles have both caused me to do some soul-searching personally and professionally into what kind of leader I am (or aspire to be) and how I think about critical or important questions in all areas of my life. In that sense, my attention to self-evaluation has been awakened.

My attitude toward change is probably still my biggest challenge among the five core aspects. Certainly, my classes thus far have awakened my senses in this area, but I have a way to go yet before I will be as comfortable with change as I am with routine. When we looked at leadership styles, there was a section on leading change; the leadership style was called “Adaptive Leadership” (Northouse, 2016). The material in this section really opened my eyes to the challenges of leading a team, or an organization (or even myself or family) through difficult change or adaptation. The chapter on Adaptive Leadership caused me to think in detail about how I would face change or adaptation, particularly if I did not agree with changes in attitudes or beliefs required to accept the change. In thinking through these issues, and relating them to the kinds of change we see in society and the workplace in modern times, I was likewise awakened to the necessity of analyzing or re-evaluating my own, long-held beliefs on various societal issues of the time. I don’t want to make this blog into a socio-political treatise, so I won’t go into the issues. But suffice it to say that as a result of that course, I definitely came to a greater awareness of self and the necessity of my perhaps changing the way that I view and approach changes in society, at work and at home as my wife and I continue to adapt to being empty-nesters.

My cognitive style was challenged in the coursework that I did in our first course that dealt with critical thinking. I had considered myself a fairly logical, clear thinker up until I was exposed to the excellent and challenging material in the book “Learning To Think Things Through” (Nosich, 2012). Suddenly, critical thinking became a lot more involved than I had heretofore thought. But the concepts introduced and the thoroughness of the process of critical thinking suddenly opened my eyes to much more structure, and logical methods of addressing questions or problems than I had ever before seen. Wrapped up in critical thinking is the concept of intellectual perseverance, which is something else that opened my eyes regarding not only how to do a better job of critical thinking, but also about an entire field of study about the intellectual obligation we have as critical thinkers to wrestle with difficult topics and work tirelessly to get at the truth or facts of a given question or situation. Becoming more aware of how we think (and need to think) engenders the realization of where we need to improve. This, in turn, increases self-awareness.

Values is (or are) closely related to attitude toward change and cognitive style. When we confront change, or leading change, our values can be tested as can our reasoning or critical thinking skills. Wrapped up in adaptability is the concept and need for embracing diversity, whether cultural or personal. This course has re-opened my eyes to the many components of our values and, when combined with critical thinking, provides a sound basis for evaluating those same values. And with the process of examining values, we gain maturity in our values. I discovered in my reading that my values are probably residing mostly at the conventional level, which is to say I am a conformist. Not surprising, given my long history with the military and in working within that same environment as a defense support contractor. Where I aspire to be is at the post-conventional or principled stage, moving beyond conformity to a state where my values are both well-reasoned and wholly my own. This realization has opened up yet another aspect of self-awareness for me.

Finally, we come to emotional intelligence which is probably my weakest area. Even after years of dealing with other people in a wide variety of situations, I find that I really have to work (and have much work yet to do) on my ability to “diagnose, understand, and manage emotional cues”. (Whetten & Cameron, 2016) In the first place, I dislike conflict and intensely emotional situations. I am not comfortable in those settings. I also am a work in progress with respect to self-control. I don’t blow up much anymore, but I can get intensely angry and stew about something for long periods of time even when I give the outward appearance of being calm and collected. I do not yet have the emotional intelligence to deal effectively with all cases of conflict, anger, and the negative emotions. The entire discipline of emotional intelligence I find both fascinating and elusive. Clearly, the manner in which we handle our emotions, and recognize and respond to the emotions of others is a large component of our own self-awareness. This course and others that follow I’m sure will continue to shed light on, and challenge, my abilities in this aspect of both my skills and my knowledge. Developing emotional intelligence, I believe, is a lifelong pursuit. There is always room for improvement. I welcome the opportunity to continue acquiring knowledge and practice in emotional intelligence. Becoming aware of our own predilections where emotional intelligence is concerned seems to me to be at the core of our development of self-awareness. And the application of critical thinking about emotions should bear much fruit.

Becoming a truly great manager and leader is largely a journey of self-discovery and self-awareness. Technical acumen is a necessary but not sufficient condition for good leadership and management. As leaders and managers, we are (or should be) all about dealing effectively, fairly, and ethically with people who truly are the heart of enterprise. It would follow, therefore, that a MS in Leadership should focus heavily on the development of the self to become an effective leader and manager. The inaugural chapter of our text “Developing Management Skills” was on developing self-awareness, which is foundational for all that follows. The work that I have done so far in the MSLD program has aided in my enlightenment when it comes to how I think, how I assess and reason, how I deal with people, and what areas I need to work on. Such is key to increasing self-awareness.

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