As a leader, you probably give feedback to your employees all day long. But how often do YOU get to hear how you are doing? Sure, your own boss may offer feedback periodically, but when do you get to hear from those you actually work with every day? Even if it’s not in a formal setting, meeting with the people you depend on, can increase your awareness and make you a more effective leader.

Why should you care about what others think?

While it’s true that you shouldn’t care about what others think when you wear the biggest hat in creation to a horse race, it is important to know what your team members think about you come across as a leader.

Small slights, even imagined ones, can lead to resentment and a reduction in productivity. As a leader, you should be aware of issues going on in your workspace. Understanding how others view your behavior can be incredibly insightful.

Leadership begins with an awareness of who you are, and what you stand for. It’s all too easy to turn on cruise control and treat each day the same. However, when you are complacent about your skills, they start to stagnate. Displaying agility and the ability to think quickly will fall away when you get stuck in the same old patterns.

Understanding what others see in you can help you correct any limitations and highlight strengths. Your employees will appreciate it when you ask for their opinions about your traits and what you can do to enhance any weaknesses.

What kind of leader are you—agile and ready to face the constant changes, or slow and resistant to change?

Hopefully, you chose the first option. And that is the first step in the right direction. Figuring out what kind of leader you want to be is critical if you want to successfully fit into the Imagination Age. Times are changing, workers are changing, and we all need to keep up.

Leaders that lack self-awareness will not make the best business decisions. They won’t have the foresight to plan ahead, and likely focus only on the short-term. They won’t understand factors that influence their decision-making processes.

Instead, I invite you to be the leader that seeks to realise that awareness leads to an increased agility and an increased ability to handle rapidly changing conditions.

What is necessary to change in a person is to change his awareness of self.

Abraham Maslow

This is one part of the process, the information gathered from family, friends, customers, suppliers, peers, and managers will open your eyes to how others see you.

Armed with knowledge, you can use the tools that the i4 Neuroleader Methodology offers to increase your awareness, and by extension, create a culture of Agility. Effective communication that goes both ways will make your organisation run more smoothly.

The Imagination Age is here, and you can either be running along to catch up, or you can confidently lead the way.

Originally posted on: 29 June 2017
Last updated on: 24 March 2024

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Silvia Damiano

Silvia Damiano

Founder & CEO
About my Brain Institute

Scientist, educator, author, speaker, coach, award-winning leadership specialist, filmmaker and creator of the i4 Neuroleader Model & Methodology.

Silvia's scientific background and curiosity about the human brain led her to a decade long journey of research into optimal brain functioning and the application of neuroscience in leadership and daily life. Her past and current roles have uniquely prepared her for the current undertaking, that of leadership activist & change agent.

Silvia Damiano founded The About my Brain Institute in 2009, with the purpose of democratising leadership & neuroscience. She has a passionately held belief, that leaders in our 21st century global economy and their organisations must radically change long-held ideas of what constitutes effective leadership

In her ground-breaking books ‘Leadership is Upside Down’, ‘Brain-Friendly Leadership’ and the 2018 documentary ‘Make Me A Leader’, Silvia provides both compelling evidence and explores the importance of leadership in our personal and professional lives and what it takes to develop the human behind the leader.

Silvia has worked in different countries, across many industries, helping teams and organisations improve business performance. Silvia’s clients have described her as a passionate, dynamic, a highly experienced speaker and master facilitator on the topics of Emotional Intelligence, Cultural Change, Neuroleadership & Engagement.

Silvia is passionate about leaving a legacy of well-rounded leaders who can act and decide in a way that better serves humanity. Her clients include Microsoft, Australian Stock Exchange, NSW Government, VISA, Fuji Xerox and Manpower amongst many other global companies.

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