Self Application:
Self Awareness makes us better and following are the elements of why it makes us better:
Empathy:
Having the ability to see when you are wrong or when you have made a mistake allows us to see other peoples’ perspectives and to be empathetic to their situation or their feelings.
Admission:
Often you may find yourself difficult to appreciate and acknowledge that you have committed a mistake. You want to take a stand in favor of what actions you have taken and always defend yourself and then if it does not work out, its not your issue, it is someone else?
Man in the Mirror:
If you can acknowledge your flaws, you can make positive change to improve upon them. Knowing is half the battle…and if you can admit to the qualities that are less than stellar about yourself…you can change them or improve upon them.
Tolerance:
When you can see your own faults, it is easier to accept others’.
Humility:
Understanding that we ourselves are not perfect allows us to get off our high–‐horses. Further, know we can always be better and as a result, can be thankful for the good that does come our way.
Likability:
Let’s face it: No one likes a know–‐it–‐all or an individual who thinks they are always right. Having the ability to see other peoples viewpoints, to be open and flexible, and acknowledge that you are not the only person who has the answer makes you a more attractive person.
Reflections
- Do you listen to others during a conversation? Or, do you tend to do a lot of the talking?
- Do you ask others how they feel about situations? Or, do you make assumptions based on your own feelings?
- Do you think about how your actions affect others? Or, are you confident that others are fine with how you handle situations?
- Are you aware of other people’s social cues? Or, do you mostly focus on your own?
Can you admit when you are wrong, and have apologized when you are? Or, do you tend to think that things are wrong or go bad because of others?
Coaching Application
Fostering self awareness in the client is the single most important thing that any coach can do. It is the basis on which all solutions are based. Because of this, self awareness is found at the core of the BIG PICTURE of the clients – coaching model. It empowers the client to greater responsibilities for their thinking in any given situation and thus steer them towards their desired results.
Self awareness is crucial because every client, and the coach will inevitably retain various blind spots that prevent them seeing what they could be doing to remedy their situation. They may be running habitual patterns or strategies that are unwittingly sabotaging the achievements of their personal goals. Whatever they say they want they are often running mental scripts or behavioral patterns that undermine the stated intent.
Self awareness helps a coach in the following ways:
- Help the client to think and develop perspectives
- Realize their own intent and life purpose
- Challenge the trends which might be acting against the achievement of the clients goals
- Show the mirror and encourage appreciate and acknowledge the reality being faced by the client
- Help remove the negative thoughts and generate positive energy to confront issues
- Build in self confidence of the client by acknowledging small successes step by step
- Empower the client to make a choice
Reflections
- Think about a situation where you felt powerful? Why?
- How does your actions as a coach influence the actions of the Client?
- How do you empower the client during the coaching sessions?
- In your own experience narrate an incident as to how you were able to get rid of the negative
- thoughts from your colleague / friend or anyone in your life.