Self-Awareness Can Help Leaders More Than an MBA Can

Leaders' self-awareness of their own strengths and weaknesses can be of far greater benefit than an MBA in running an organization and ensuring workforce loyalty, reports the Harvard Business Review . Harvard Business School Professor Bill George says self-awareness is the skill of being aware of one's thoughts, emotions, and values from moment to moment. Self-awareness allows people to lead themselves with authenticity and integrity, and subsequently better lead others and organizations. A Harvard poll of more than 1,000 leaders from more than 800 companies in more than 100 countries determined leaders at the highest levels tend to have better self-awareness than leaders lower down, possibly because stronger self-awareness expedites promotion, or because they are pushed toward improving their self-awareness as they assume more leadership responsibilities. Among the steps people can follow to enhance their self-awareness are short daily mindfulness practices to be more cognizant of what is occurring within one's mind from moment to moment. Taking regular awareness breaks to relieve pressure is another recommendation, as it gets people out of habitual thinking and behavior. A third tip is committing attention to others' concerns and opinions.