MODULE 1:

SELF-AWARENESS AND REGULATION

INTRODUCTION

This module will discuss self-awareness and self-regulation

as foundations for leadership realization. It was designed for
students who are exploring the values of personal leadership
competence and how they should equip themselves to meet the
demands and requirements for success.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Upon completion of this Module, you shall be

able to:
1. Explain the importance of self-awareness and regulation
and discuss how their practice helps demonstrate a
capacity for leadership;
2. Analyze situations in which self-awareness and regulation
play a significant role in leadership; and
3. Resolve to practice self-awareness and self-regulation to
further develop leadership capacity.

DISCUSSION:
Lesson 1: Introduction and Theories of Self-awareness
In the modern workplace, technical skills now take second
place in an employee’s ability to learn on the job.

Communication skills, adaptability, creativity,

responsiveness, personal management, motivation,
“contributorship”, social skills, and leadership potential are
now specifically identified as desirable traits.[2]

Foundation of Management Skills

As a foundational skill for the development of management or

leadership potential, self-awareness plays a significant role in
emotional competence, an attribute now considered among the most
desired traits for managers.[2]
What is awareness?
Awareness is generally defined as having or showing a
realization, perception, or knowledge of a concept, situation,
circumstance, or person. When an individual is aware, he or she
can focus on facts or perceptions of facts regarding a concept,
situation, circumstance, or person.[2]
What is Self-awareness?

Self-awareness means that you have a sharp realization of

your personality, including your strengths and weaknesses, your
thoughts and beliefs, your emotions, and your motivations. Many
people assume that they have a healthy sense of self-awareness,
but it is best to look at a relative scale to see where you fall
on it compared to others. Being aware creates an opportunity to
make changes in one’s behavior and beliefs. While you develop
self-awareness, your thoughts and interpretations will begin to
change. This change in mental state will also alter your emotions
and increase your emotional intelligence, which is an important
factor in achieving overall success. Becoming self-aware is an
early step in the creation of the life that you want. It helps
you pinpoint what your passions and emotions are, and how your
personality can help you in life. You can recognize where your
thoughts and emotions are leading you, and make any necessary
changes. Once you are aware of your thoughts, emotions, and
behavior, you will be able to make changes in the direction of
your future.[1]
Activity 1: Self-awareness Questions
QUESTIONS ANSWER
(Write the letter “A” for the first Write the letter of
question and then “B” for the second your choice)
question.
1. (A)Do you listen to others during a
conversation?
(B) Or do you tend to do a lot of
talking?
2. (A) Do you ask others how they feel
about situations?
(B) Or do you make assumptions based
on your feelings?
3. (A) Do you think about how your
actions affect others?
(B) Or are you confident that others
are “fine with how you handle the
 situations”?
4. (A) Are you aware of other people’s
social cues?
(B) Or do you mostly focus on your
own?
5. (A) Can you admit when you are wrong
and have apologized when you are?
(B) Or do you tend to think that
things are wrong or go bad because of
others?

Theories of Self-Awareness
1. Developmental Theory (Jean Piaget, 1986-1980)

Jean Piaget’s developmental theory states that a

child’s thinking does not develop linearly and smoothly.
Instead, there are certain milestone points or phases that
stages of development “take off”.

When a child reaches each stage, he moves into

completely new areas and capabilities and he stays at this
stage until it is time to move into the next stage.

Piaget’s primary ideas focused on assimilation and

accommodation:

 Assimilation – the process by which a person

incorporates stimuli from the environment into the
mind and changes it to conform with what a person
already knows to be part of him.

 Accommodation – refers to the difference made to

one’s mind or concepts after the process of
assimilation; it is when a person makes an
adjustment after stimuli are assimilated.

According to Piaget, growing up influences a child’s

capacity to understand the world, and children in general
cannot assume particular tasks until they are
psychologically mature enough to do so.
He also assumed that people generally go through the
same stages of development without variations and that
 individuals share similar parts throughout their lifespans.
This when we recognize how unique we all are compared to
each other, makes the theory inaccurate.
Critics said that while Piaget’s theory bore merits in
its application as a learning theory, it was still largely
an inaccurate understanding of how children grow and
develop. Individuals have different methods of learning and
this cannot be boiled down to a single formula that we can
use to determine the rate at which learning is absorbed and
development achieved at any stage of development.
2. Cognitive Development (Andreas Demetriou, 1950)

Demetriou’s theory of Cognitive Development offered a

combination of empirical evidence from Piaget’s study with
an aspect of psychometrics and cognitive theory. His theory
aimed to describe and explain intellectual development
through the life span, and the individual differences which
occur between changes.
There are three (3) functional levels of organization
in which the human mind is built that explain how
differences in development occur according to Demetriou.
These includes:
1. Core Processes
This refers to information processing; it is also
the ability of a person to attend to, select,
represent, and operate based on information
available.

2. Metal Operations
These are thought processes and functions that
specialize in the representation and processing of
information that come from different domains of the
environment.

3. Knowledge and Beliefs

The self-oriented level; of this stage refers to a
person’s activity functions and processes being
programmed to monitor, represent, and regulate all
processing potentials, as well as all environment-
oriented systems.
Demetriou assumed that at this stage, a person has
“executive control over his development and in
planning the same, that the mind/self generates
self-perceptions that converge on a self-image
(self-awareness) that “shapes how he views the
world, applies constructs to problem-solving, and
engages in other forms of social interaction.” [2]