This week I had the distinct privilege to work with a group of young Michigan veterinarians and veterinary students as a mentor for the Power of Ten Leadership Academy. I have been a supporter of this program for years and for the past two classes have been one of their two veterinary mentors. The program is filled with fresh veterinary faces eager to improve their skills as leaders in the veterinary profession. Speakers are brought in each quarter to challenge us in new ways to develop ourselves into better leaders and better humans. I love the program because each session I learn something new from the speakers and from the students that I mentor.
The program that we attended on Friday and Saturday revolved around leadership development through self-awareness. Self-awareness is defined as, “conscious knowledge of one's own character, feelings, motives, and desires.” Working to become a better leader starts with looking inward.
Dr. Travis Bradberry, author of Emotional Intelligence 2.0, describes self-awareness as the core component of emotional intelligence. He defines emotional intelligence as the ability to recognize and understand emotions in yourself and others, and the ability to manage those emotions.
How do you create more self-awareness and learn to manage your emotions?
The first step that we took was to work through a personality assessment. I love personality profiling systems as tools to get to know myself better and to learn more about others. We used the DISC profiling system, taught to us brilliantly by John, our MVMA CEO. The DISC system helps identify our preferred behavioral styles by looking at a combination of the four DISC styles. Whether you use DISC, Meyer’s Briggs, Enneagram or The Big Five Personality tests, getting to know yourself on a deeper level will help you understand how you react to situations, and help you to understand the people that you lead.
Self-awareness requires that you to understand your emotions. Learning that your emotions are created by your thinking and learning not to fear your emotions, is a key step in developing leadership maturity. Staying on your toes with regards to self examination in your response to all circumstances will allow you to change and grow in the areas of your greatest emotional strengths.
Self-awareness requires you to stay curious. One of the primary attributes of a good leader is a healthy curiosity and thirst for life long learning. Looking to other strong leaders to learn from their experiences will open up your mind to ideas that will help you develop your leadership skills. The Power of Ten Leadership Academy is a group filled with healthy curiosity.
If you work to understand yourself, learn to feel your emotions, and remain curious you will embody the power of leadership self-awareness. Knowing yourself well is the most important step in becoming an authentic powerful leader.
Dr. Julie Cappel
“Strong people have a strong sense of self-worth and self-awareness; they don’t need the approval of others.” ― Roy T. Bennett
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