Self-Awareness and Leadership Quiz

Self-awareness is the ability to see oneself clearly.

Most people do not have high levels of self-awareness.

There are two types of self-awareness: internal and external.

Internal self-awareness is associated with higher job and relationship satisfaction, personal and social control, and happiness.

External self-awareness means understanding how other people view us.

People who know how others view them are more skilled at showing empathy and taking others' perspectives.

Leaders who see themselves as their employees do, their employees tend to have a better relationship with them, feel more satisfied with them, and see them as more effective in general.

It's tempting to value one type of self-awareness over the other, but leaders must actively work on both seeing themselves clearly and getting feedback to understand how others see them.

People don't always learn from experience, expertise doesn't help people root out false information, and seeing ourselves as highly experienced can keep us from doing our homework.

The more power a leader holds, the more likely they are to overestimate their skills and abilities.

One study found that more-experienced managers were less accurate in assessing their leadership effectiveness compared with less experienced managers.

Similarly, the more power a leader wields, the less comfortable people will be to give them constructive feedback, for fear it will hurt their careers.

People who introspect are less self-aware and report worse job satisfaction and well-being.

The problem with introspection isn't that it is categorically ineffective, it's that most people don't do it enough.

The question "why" is a poor way to self-reflect because we can't access many of the unconscious thoughts, feelings, and motives we're searching for.

The question "what" is a better way to self-reflect because it helps us stay objective, future-focused, and empowered to act on our new insights.

People who are very introspective are also more likely to get caught in ruminative patterns.

To increase productive self-insight and decrease unproductive rumination, we should ask what, not why.

Leaders who focus on building both internal and external self-awareness, who seek honest feedback from loving critics, and who ask what instead of why can learn to see themselves more clearly - and reap the many rewards that increased self-knowledge delivers.

There is always more to learn when it comes to self-awareness, which is why it is such an exciting journey.

Leaders who focus on building self-awareness can learn to see their strengths and weaknesses more clearly and improve their decision-making skills.

Self-awareness is important because it allows leaders to see the impact their decisions have on others and to make better choices.

Leaders who focus on building self-awareness can also learn to better understand their customers and employees.