Part 1
This is our third pillar of Effortless Leadership series, and it is indeed a very powerful pillar. If you notice, our first two pillars were somewhat internal to yourself. Getting the YOU right for YOU. This pillar is about getting YOU in the right state to serve OTHERS better. Because as a leader, your awareness for others is invaluable…
Let’s quickly define the keywords here. A State is simply a condition of being. Being calm is a state. Being angry is a state. Being Aware is a state where you have more perception or understanding of what is around you. So we’re talking about achieving a state of calibration. We calibrate what’s in our surrounding, who is in our surroundings, why they are in our surroundings and above all, we become aware of the state of others.
So as a leader, you’re in a state of awareness of what your team (or business partners, customers etc.) is feeling, experiencing, expressing or withholding. You have that knowledge, and you, therefore, have that power.
You can quickly see the immense value that you gain by having a state of awareness. You move from inward thinking, processing, emotion to outward-focused assessment and evaluation. You, therefore, become more likely to successfully perceive, feel or be cognizant of events. You become conscious (and unconsciously) aware of so much more, which puts you in the driver’s seat.
Now this state isn’t just about being aware of others, it’s so much more than that. Very importantly it’s also about being aware of your environment; your surroundings, your market, your competitors or your economic conditions.
When you are operating consistently from a state of awareness you will have;
- A better understanding of information your team is giving you
- Super-fast problem-solving skills
- Uncanny ability to spot an opportunity for improvements, new products etc.
- An intuitive sense of prioritisation
- Better ability to motivate your team
- Stronger connection with the team, clients etc.
- The ability to know when to close a sale
You will be one step ahead, always.
Now I did lie, I said this pillar was about others. That’s not true. It is also about you. Because one state you want to have is that of Self-Awareness. However, to some degree, this does fall back to the first pillar of integrity. Having personal integrity does bring with it the state of self-awareness, which is becoming aware of what drives you and your decision-making.
When you combine self-awareness and awareness of others, you have a very powerful state. In this state you are comfortable, you talk freely, you’re not worried about mistakes you make, you’re less defensive. You are in a position to know your strengths and weaknesses, and even better, also those of your team members. And you can use that position to ensure that you are all working to your strengths and helping each other with your weaknesses. That creates true teamwork, true connection and cohesion. Follow the mindset coach Gold Coast here!
One is of study that has been growing is the space of Emotional Quotient (EQ). I will cover this off in another blog, but briefly, is simply a measure of the emotional intelligence (EI) or awareness one carries. It looks at their awareness from 4 aspects; internal awareness, internal management, external awareness and external management. This is a very cool subject and we actually can measure our clients’ emotional intelligence and provide them with a full 30-page report on their strengths, weaknesses and how to improve.
In Part 2 of our Awareness Blog, I will discuss EI in a little more detail and cover further facts about the relevance, power of awareness and how it helps you achieve effortless leadership!
However, if you’d like to discover how you can have powerful awareness, which gives you spider-like intuition and ability to influence and flourish your environment, get in touch with us at Leader House.
