Assessments - Empowering through self-awareness

What is it about self-awareness that makes managers so much more effective in their works and personal lives? I invite you to learn why assessments are key.

“If an egg is broken by an outside force, life ends. If broken by an inside force, life begins. Great things always begin from the inside” – Jim Kwik

This is one of my favourite quotes ever, conveying that self-awareness is the beginning of any change or transformation towards professional development and personal growth.

Personal development should be a part of our every-day lives. By continuing to grow and learn throughout time, we find greater meaning and satisfaction in our lives. The people who come to succeed the most are the ones creating opportunities for themselves by continually investing in their personal development.

Nevertheless, knowing where to begin can be a tough challenge, as most of the times we aren’t very good in assessing ourselves and what could be the best path forward for personal development. Moving beyond our personal judgement and getting a clear perspective on our own abilities it’s the first step to raise awareness and maximize our management skills, leading to development and growth.

How to improve self-awareness?

We can become more self-aware by seeking feedback and learning how others perceive us, by hiring executive coaching or completing personal assessments. Professionally administered assessments allow us to put aside our judgement and interpretations and get an unbiased outside perspective on our abilities and learn about our blind spots. Armed with a good assessment and true actionable insights, we can recalibrate our self-awareness and create goals for personal development.

There are many areas we can learn and understand about ourselves and that will bring enriched self-awareness. Key areas for self-awareness include our personality traits, values, habits, emotions and the psychological needs that drive our behaviours. The way we act and behave on each of them, determine the impact we have on managing self and others. Professional assessments can point out the skills gap that we should work on.

There are some globally recognized assessment tools like Saville Consulting’s Performance Competency Model, ESCI – Emotional and Social Competencies Inventory, Saville Performance 360º, ISQ – Influence Styles Questionnaire, just to name a few, that raise the necessary awareness.

Delivering empowerment

And that’s why self-awareness is so empowering! It can reveal where the skills gap is and indicate what can be done to improve our performance, motivating us towards the necessary change.

Yet if change starts with self-awareness, it’s acceptance that defines the way we move forward. Acceptance does not mean settling for less, it can actually be quite empowering as well through creating the necessary conditions to define existing options and then making choices.

By being self-aware and having this feeling of empowerment that enables transformation towards personal and professional growth, we can become more conscious of ourselves as well as of others, becoming better leaders!

Marta Sousa | Business Director & Associated Coach