Self-awareness, or the ability to recognize and understand your own emotions, is a critical emotional

intelligence skill. Beyond just recognizing your emotions, however, is being aware of the effect of
your actions, moods, and emotions on other people.

What is Emotional Self-Awareness?

With Emotional Self-Awareness, you understand your own emotions and their impact on your
performance. You know what you are feeling and why—and how it helps or hurts what you are
trying to do. You sense how others see you and your self-image reflects that larger reality. You have
an accurate sense of your strengths and limitations, which gives you a realistic self-confidence. It
also gives you clarity on your values and sense of purpose, so you can be more decisive when you set
a course of action.
Leaders who are self-aware can recognize when their emotions have a negative impact on their
work, or on the people around them. They are then better equipped to address it in an effective
way, such as through creating opportunities for feedback, experimenting with different ways to
motivate their team, or being more open to creative solutions. 

*Why is Emotional Self-Awareness important?*

It helps us to become better decision-makers It gives us more self-confidence — so, as a result, we

communicate with clarity and intention. It allows us to understand things from multiple
perspectives. It frees us from our assumptions and biases. It helps us build better relationships.

Why is Emotional Self-Awareness Key for Leaders?

Korn Ferry Hay Group research found that among leaders with multiple strengths in Emotional Self-
Awareness, 92% had teams with high energy and high performance. In sharp contrast, leaders low in
Emotional Self-Awareness created negative climates 78% of the time. Great leaders create a positive
emotional climate that encourages motivation and extra effort, and they're the ones with good
Emotional Self-Awareness.
Research at Cornell University showed that a high Emotional Self-Awareness score was the strongest
predictor of overall success. With a developed foundation in this competency, leaders are more
likely to have strengths in additional leadership competencies, such as Teamwork.
While it is easy to focus on Competencies that seem like they'll give us quicker results, such as
Influence or Conflict Management, without Emotional Self-Awareness we can only scratch the
surface of our full potential. This is the skill that requires the most patience and honesty, and
provides the best foundation for further developing Emotional and Social Intelligence in both work
and life situations.

How to Develop Emotional Self-Awareness

Emotional Self-Awareness isn’t something that you achieve once. Every moment is an opportunity to
be self-aware or not. It is a continual endeavor, a conscious choice to be self-aware. The good news
is that the more you practice it, the easier it becomes. Research by my colleague and friend Richard
Davidson, a neuroscientist at the University of Wisconsin, suggests that one way to become more
self-aware is to check in with your sensory experience.
In my new video series, Crucial Competence: Building Emotional and Social Leadership, Professor
Davidson explained it this way: “We know that Emotional Self-Awareness can begin with sensations
in your body or with your thoughts. When emotions are activated, they are accompanied by bodily
changes. There may be changes in breathing rate, in muscle tension, in heart rate. Emotional Self-
Awareness in part is the awareness of one's own body. Neuroscientists have assigned a very specific
label to this and it's called interoception, the perception of internal signals on the body. It refers to
the capacity to sense one's own heart rate, changes in one's own heart rate, or changes in patterns
of muscle tension. So, the very first and real foundation for Emotional Self-Awareness is
interoception. It's knowledge of what is going on in the body.” Tuning in more to the body’s signals is
one practical way of developing self-awareness.
Doing a Body Scan is another technique for building your ability to sense the bodily changes that
accompany emotions. I encourage you to try out the Body Scan guided audio exercise that I created
for another conversation I had with Professor Davidson in Develop a Healthy Mind.  For more on
Emotional Self-Awareness, see my latest release with colleagues in the realm of emotional
intelligence and leadership, a Primer on Emotional Self-Awareness.
This Primer offers a state of the art, research-based overview of the Emotional and Social
Intelligence Leadership Competency Model, as well as the first
Competency of Emotional Self-Awareness. It's a concise read that anyone in a leadership position
will benefit from.

Example
Mindful of how they're feeling at any given time. Comfortable with appropriately expressing a range of
emotions in various personal and workplace settings. Able to understand the functions served by negative
or challenging emotions. Able to pinpoint the causes of their reactions.