Techniques for Cultivating Awareness

Self-Awareness is Foundational to Wellbeing, Resilience and Leadership After debriefing 1,500+ individual WE-I Assessments with primarily healthcare leaders and caregivers, here is the most common question I get: "What's the one thing that will have the greatest impact on my emotional intelligence?" My answer is always the same: 🔥🔥🔥 Self-Awareness.🔥🔥🔥 🔥 Here's what I mean by self-awareness. 👉You notice your emotional patterns. 👉You recognize you get defensive when someone questions your decisions. 👉You know you shut down when meetings run over. 👉You understand that criticism hits harder on days when you're already stressed.  👉You see you prioritize completing tasks over building relationships through collaboration because you think it saves time. 🔥Most people operate on emotional autopilot. A situation is triggering. They react without reflecting, then wonder why the same problems show up in relationships and at work. 🔥 Self-aware people do things differently. 💪 They catch the pattern before it plays out completely. 💪 They check in with themselves about what drives their choices rather than reacting quickly to problems that require more deliberate solutions. 💪They think: "I'm getting that familiar feeling in my chest when someone challenges me. This is defensiveness kicking in. Let me be curious about what they're saying or what I can learn." 🔥We don't eliminate or suppress emotions. We acknowledge them early enough to consider the broader context and make intentional choices that align with our values. 🙌 When we know our patterns, we work through what serves us instead of being controlled by reactive, unregulated emotions. 🙌 We prepare with intention for situations that have triggered us in the past. 🙌 We communicate our needs. 🙌 We ask for what we need to be successful. 🔥Self-awareness is the most impactful EQ skill to cultivate. It's the gateway to developing all other EQ skills. 👉We can't manage what we don't notice. 👉We can't improve what we don't acknowledge. 👉We can't change patterns we don't see. 👉What situations trigger your reactivity?  👉Do you “people please” to avoid distressing emotions?  👉Do you dismiss people who don’t agree with you? 🔥🔥🔥 Consistency is key: 👉Review your schedule at the start of every day. o Anticipate which projects or situations may trigger your pattern. o Visualize yourself practicing curiosity and humility while taking a few extra deep breaths. 👉Review your workday before transitioning to personal time.  o Notice when you were present and regulated and when you felt triggered. o What were the circumstances?  o How did you react in the moment? o How well did you nurture your relationships at work? o What could you do differently or better next time? o Take deep, slow breaths to clear your mind. o Practice self-compassion.

Nothing like a good Retreat to get the mind working reflectively on some principles of PD. Here are a few (ok, seven): Chris Dalton’s 7 Rules for Personal Development & Self-Awareness (for now, anyway). ❔ 1. Stay Curious: Question the Question Curiosity is not about answers. It's about interrogating the structure of the question itself. Every question carries assumptions, shaping the kinds of answers we consider possible. I’ve learned that when I pause to ask, “What’s behind this question?” or “What is this question assuming?” I often uncover far more than if I rushed to an answer. Curiosity grows when we challenge the way we frame our questions. 🤔 2. Expand Possibility: develop strong critical thinking, not strong opinions. Strong opinions close doors; strong critical thinking keeps them open. When I engage with new ideas, I aim to say “yes, and...” to what I encounter. What can I build on? What patterns can I explore? Learning happens in that space between conviction and flexibility, where I can tolerate ambiguity and contradiction without rushing to easy conclusions. 🚶♂️➡️ 3. Just start walking, and own the path (even when lost). Meaning isn’t inherent in the world around me. It’s something I construct through movement, through decisions, through risk. The path is only visible because I walk it. That’s when insights emerge. 🗺️ 4. Make maps of the territory, and don't mistake the map for the real thing. The models I construct to navigate life (mental, conceptual, or literal) help me make sense of the world, and they are not reality itself. A good map is useful, and it can never be complete. I remind myself that I am always working with a partial view and that my willingness to redraw my maps determines how well I adapt. 🙊 5. Listen with all your senses, and remember that what you sense is news of difference. I aspire to listen with my whole self. I generally fail. Information isn’t static; it exists in contrast. I notice how a sound stands out from silence, how a pattern forms against randomness, or how an idea sharpens when placed next to another. The moment I stop noticing difference, I stop learning. 🦸 6. Find your superpower, then wield it responsibly. We all have access to something that, when sharpened, can become our unique value. A talent without awareness is a liability. You cannot define a superpower as a strength unless you know when and how to use it with virtue and wisdom. It will be something you don't brag about. I'm not going to tell you mine. Keep yours to yourself. 🧘 7. Develop Systemic Awareness, Not Just Self-Awareness Socially, I am an individual because I am part of a system. My choices, actions, and beliefs exist in a web of relationships, organisations, and cultures I shape and am shaped as. Self-awareness alone isn’t enough; I need to see the larger patterns, the structures, and the forces at play.

True leadership is born from within. Before you can lead others, you must first master leading yourself. That journey starts with one critical element: self-awareness. Self-awareness is the foundation of all great leadership. When you understand your strengths, blind spots, and motivations, you're better equipped to guide others with authenticity and purpose. —-How to START building self-awareness—- 1.) Reflect Daily Take 5 minutes each day to ask yourself: What went well? What didn’t? Where did my actions align—or misalign—with my values? 2.) Seek Honest Feedback Ask your team and peers for insights about how you show up. Embrace the tough stuff. 3.) Recognize Your Emotional Triggers (we all have them) Pay attention to how you react under pressure. Self-regulation is key to keeping calm and leading with clarity. 4.) Own Your Growth Self-awareness isn’t a one-time thing. It’s a journey of continuous learning and improvement and you own yours. Couple of thoughts: 🔄 Avoiding self-reflection and feedback ↳ Stays stuck in comfort zone ↳ Misses growth opportunities ↳ Blind spots persist 🌱 Embracing self-awareness ↳ Continuous personal growth ↳ Authentic connections flourish ↳ Unlocks your full potential What’s one self-awareness practice that has worked for you?

Data leaders have to connect with everyone. Most data leaders are burned out. It is a hard statement and a hard reality 🔥 No one is talking about it 😷 I flourished for 15 years in data leadership without burnout and one trick: Self-Awareness Self-awareness is understanding your own thoughts, feelings, motivations, and how they impact your actions and interactions with others. For me this is the best way to deliver all the time on 100% and more. My 7-step playbook to increase your self-awareness as manager: 1) Reflect Daily Dedicate 10 minutes each morning to journal about your feelings, challenges, and successes. This helps identify patterns and triggers. 2) Active Listening During team meetings, focus on understanding your team's perspective. Paraphrase their points to ensure clarity and show empathy. 3) Emotional Check-ins Schedule short, informal check-ins with team members to discuss their workload, challenges, and how they're feeling. This helps gauge team morale. 4) Mindful Breaks Take short breaks throughout the day to practice breath work. This improves focus and emotional regulation. 5) Continuous Learning Commit to reading one leadership article or book chapter per week. Share insights with your team to foster a learning culture. 6) Goal Review Spend 15 minutes every Friday reviewing your weekly goals. Analyze what worked, what didn't, and adjust accordingly. 7) Self-Care Rituals Incorporate physical activity into your routine. A healthy mind and body enhance self-awareness. Want to dive deeper into any of these steps? Add the comment "NOBURNOUT" and I will send you a great tool. 👇 🫶🏼 Share this one with your colleagues and peers who are aiming for data success as well. ✨ Follow Dr. Markus Schmidberger and Turtle Transformation Limited for more authentic (and) data leadership content.