Life's a journey - so is being a good leader

Lack of self-awareness, especially of how others see you, is a blind spot that can ruin careers.

Former Uber Technologies CEO Travis Kalanick's pugnacious and brash style has been blamed for a string of scandals at Uber, from the unearthing of a culture of sexism and bullying to a US Department of Justice federal probe and a high-stakes lawsuit
Mr Elon Musk, chief executive of Tesla, has been described by critics as a delusional leader lost in his own aura of success, says the writer. He is facing a lawsuit by the US Securities and Exchange Commission accusing him of securities fraud. He recently resigned as chairman of Tesla but retains the CEO role for now. PHOTOS: REUTERS
Former Uber Technologies CEO Travis Kalanick's pugnacious and brash style has been blamed for a string of scandals at Uber, from the unearthing of a culture of sexism and bullying to a US Department of Justice federal probe and a high-stakes lawsuit
Former Uber Technologies CEO Travis Kalanick's pugnacious and brash style has been blamed for a string of scandals at Uber, from the unearthing of a culture of sexism and bullying to a US Department of Justice federal probe and a high-stakes lawsuit filed by Alphabet's autonomous car division. PHOTOS: REUTERS
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In my past 10 years of leadership coaching, it has become clear that leaders who are self-aware have the ability to see themselves clearly, to understand who they are, how others see them and how they fit into their organisation or the world in general. This has a direct bearing on increasing their leadership effectiveness, which results in greater organisational effectiveness.

There is a strong positive correlation between self-awareness of leaders, their authentic behaviours and, consequently, their leadership effectiveness.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on October 14, 2018, with the headline Life's a journey - so is being a good leader. Subscribe