Self-Awareness: The Keystone of Exceptional Leadership
Exceptional leaders share a common trait that transcends industry, tenure, and title: self-awareness. Research across decades shows that leaders who truly understand themselves—both how they see themselves and how others experience them—are more effective at inspiring trust, shaping culture, and delivering results. And, mic drop… research shows that 95% of people believe they are self-aware, yet only 10–15% actually are (Eurich, 2018).
The Science of EQ and Leadership Success
Richard Boyatzis’ work on emotional intelligence (EQ) highlights self-awareness as the starting point for the other core EQ and leader competencies. Leaders who accurately read their own emotions are better able to manage them, communicate authentically, and create the positive emotional resonance that drives team performance (Boyatzis, 2018).
Self-awareness is not only understanding our own strengths, values, passions, purpose, triggers, weaknesses, etc., it also includes accurately understanding how others perceive us. Eurich (2018) distinguishes internal self-awareness—clarity about our values, strengths, and impact—from external self-awareness—understanding how others perceive us. Leaders need both to avoid blind spots and make decisions that build trust.
Kouzes & Posner’s Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership® (2017) reinforce this point. The first practice, Model the Way, begins with clarifying personal values—an inherently self-aware act. Without knowing what you stand for, you cannot authentically inspire a shared vision or enable others to act.
Practical Steps to Build Self-Awareness
Clarify Your Values. Write down your top five values and rate how well your current behaviors align with each. This reflection strengthens your ability to “Model the Way.”
Seek Multi-Source Feedback. 360-degree feedback uncovers gaps between your self-perception and how others experience you—bridging internal and external self-awareness.
Practice Mindful Pauses. Daily reflection or short mindfulness practices improve your ability to notice emotions before reacting.
The Payoff
When leaders invest in self-awareness, they ignite all five of Kouzes & Posner’s practices—modeling the way, inspiring a shared vision, challenging processes, enabling others, and encouraging the heart. EQ becomes the catalyst for exceptional leadership, creating environments where both people and performance thrive.
Learn More:
Contact Dr. Patti (DrPattiTampaCoaching@gmail.com) to discuss how leadership coaching focuses on self-awareness and high-impact actions.
Boyatzis, R. E. (2018). The competent manager: A model for effective performance. Wiley.
Eurich, T. (2018). Insight. Crown Business.
Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (2017). The Leadership Challenge (6th ed.). Wiley.