Leadership Skills: Self Awareness

A good leader is considered as a person who is sensible to others. This in turn calls for a sensibility within himself in order for him to become sensible to others. Sensibility is a nature of awareness: Awareness of the sensations. Bodily sensation is nothing but the language of the feeling. The feelings are the outcome of our own emotions.

So, a self-awareness of your own internal world is a prerequisite of a good leader. A person cannot manage himself when he does not have the ability of what is happening within himself. So, self-management calls for the self-awareness. For any given experience/event, one should have the ability to capture in real time the associated emotions that run beneath. A person, who has the higher sensitivity, captures the bodily sensations in finer details. A person cannot manage others when he can’t self-mange.

So, here is the flow. Self Awareness -->Self management-->Awareness of others -->Management of others.

Mirror: External reality is majorly determined by our own internal mental & emotional state. Others, they simply act as a mirror/reflection of you. When you are calm, you radiate calmness and generate calmness in others. In this case.calmness is the reflection that you see in others. A good leader is completely aware of this process & he naturally performs his behaviour in tune with the process.

Bodily sensations: Bodily sensations and the feelings are the outcomes of your emotions. There is an entire gamut of level to this sensory perception that varies from gross to the subtle levels. Your emotion appears in the form of bodily sensation. Your ability to perceive this sensation gives full access to your internal world. Good leader enhances his sensory perception to an extent of even picking up the subtlest bodily sensations so that he is well self-centred. He somehow knows the means to connect to himself in finder details.

There are techniques available in most of the mind-body practices such as Yoga, taichi etc. One needs to invest considerable effort to master these techniques. It is a learnable skill.

Summary: You can’t manage others when you don’t have the ability to manage yourself. Self-awareness & self-management are the key leadership skills. Your emotion appears in the form of bodily sensation. Your ability to perceive this sensation gives full access to your internal world. Enhance your sensory perception to an extent of even picking up the subtlest bodily sensations.

“Higher the sensory perception better the level of self-awareness "