“It’s me. Hi. I’m the problem it’s me…..” My daughter and I are a little obsessed with Taylor Swift’s latest song ‘Anti-hero’ (so good!).
I doubt Ms Swift intended it but every time I hear the chorus I can’t help thinking wow – a global popstar singing about self-awareness!
Self-awareness – the cornerstone of Emotional Intelligence, the never-ending journey that we are all on, some of us very consciously so, some of us not so much. I love the classic model of self-awareness created by psychologists Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham, and aptly named the Johari Window.
Johari can really help us to reflect on and explore…
- Our Arena: what we know and share about ourselves (eg our strengths, experience, perhaps some of our values and beliefs)
- Our Façade: what we keep hidden from others (eg perhaps our fears, our saboteurs, our known derailers)
- Our Blind Spot(s): what others know about us but we don’t see (eg our unknown derailers and talents, our unknown impact)
- Our Unknown Potential (What neither we nor others know about us – yet!)
Self-awareness is key for our growth and development and critical for leadership. If you don’t know yourself, how can you build trust and lead and influence others?
![](https://www.janesendall-leadership.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Johari-Window-1024x1024.png)
If you’d like to increase your self-awareness or would like to help your leaders explore this, including through the use of psychometrics and 360 tools contact me jane@janesendall-leadership.com for a discussion on how coaching could help. I am currently offering a chemistry meeting and one pro bono session per client.