Week #25 (June 17-23, 2019)

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 Week #25 (June 17-23, 2019) - The Importance of Self-Awareness 

I met with a lady a couple of weeks ago who has recently taken over running a mid-level organization. The organization has an annual operating budget in the low millions, so while not a Fortune 500 institution, this isn’t by any measure a small organization. While meeting she mentioned that she was new to the role because she had taken over from the founder - let’s call him Bob. It was a voluntary resignation supported by the board. Stop for a second, and think about that. Bob started it many years ago and invested his sweat and toil to build it up, only to hand it over at a time when the organization is operating at the highest level it ever has. That’s surprising! What more surprising is the reason he chose to resign. When asked, she told me that Bob realized (and accepted) that with his skill set, he had take the organization as far as it could go under his leadership. He knew his limits and realized that with him at the helm, things had peaked. They needed someone else carry the baton and further the mission. Doing something like this requires such an acute level of self-awareness, not to mention humility - a skill many do not have. And for this I commend him. The organization now led by this lady has since grown and continues to do so.Now contrast that with another person I know - let’s call her Megan -who when last we spoke, has suffered a failed business and practically severed her relationships with former business partners, not to mention some friends. My understanding of what happened in her situation was that she held on too long. After she had made several significant blunders in her company, there were provided for her, many opportunities to gracefully exit. Instead she doubled down, over-estimating her value. Well, you know the rest of the story.What’s the main difference in the two stories above? Self-awareness. One had it, one didn’t! One enjoys the fruits thereof, while the other suffers the consequences of not acquiring it. And that’s the central reminder for today.KNOW YOURSELF! I’ve written about this before, but when speaking about it then, I covered only one side of the coin. That side draws the connection between knowing your value - knowing your worth - and consequently not being taken advantage of. But the other equally important side of that coin is knowing your deficiencies, knowing your weak spots. WE ALL HAVE THEM! Having a robust sense of self-awareness means being keenly aware of what you bring to the equation AND what you need to bring to the equation that you don’t currently posses.Sadly, many people do not have this skill. And I believe this is in part due to the very nature of developing said skill. Part of having a healthy sense of self-awareness is built in the counsel of others. It CANNOT be done alone. The fact is, we ALL have blindspots, and they are called blindspots for a reason. WE ARE BLIND TO THEM, and thus need a few trusted, mature outside voices, who can see things we can’t. Who respect us enough to allow our individuality and autonomy, but also love us enough to correct us when we inevitably start stepping out of line. Submitting to external counsel is extremely difficult and humbling, but is nonetheless indispensable to maturing. We all need external guidance and correction, but many forsake it because of the discomfort that comes thereof. I believe this is in part responsible for our lack of self-awareness.I don’t know if Bob surrounded himself with accountability, but what I do know is Megan didn’t. To my knowledge Megan wasn’t the type to seriously submit herself to the leadership and counsel of others. Is Megan an utterly terrible person with no redeemable qualities? Of course not! We all have strengths, and Megan is no different. But this one weakness (a major one at that), I believe is what cost her her business and some of her relationships. A lack of self-awareness was the symptom. Pride and isolation were the root.Until next week, #KnowItsRealP.S. Check out the BRAND NEW Lyric Video for "When You Land" and don't forget to Subscribe to my Youtube page (and turn on notifications). ENJOY!

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