Developing

Self-Awareness
Kamal Uddin Ahmed
NSU MBA HRM 631

Ph.D.

Spring 16, Tuesday, 19 January 2016

A Model for Developing Management Skills

Components

Contents

Objectives

Skill assessment Survey

instruments,
Role plays

Assess current level of skill

competence and knowledge; create
readiness to change

Skill learning

Written
texts, Teach current principles and
behavioral
present a rationale for behavioral
guidelines
guidelines

Skill analysis

Cases

Skill practice

Exercises,
Practice behavioral guidelines.
Simulations, Role Adapt principles to personal style.
plays
Receive feedback and assistance

Skill application Assignments

Transfer classroom learning to real(behavioral and life situations. Foster ongoing
written)
personal development

Provide examples of appropriate

and
inappropriate
skill
performance. Analyze behavioral
principles and reasons they work

Developing Managerial and Leadership

competencies :
The Learning Model

Apply
New skills to
your work
setting

Practice
competencies
and obtain
feedback

Assess
your
current
knowledge
and
behavior

Learn
best
practices
and why
they work
Analyze
successful and
unsuccessful
cases

Key dimensions of self

awareness
Knowledge

of the self - core of human

behavior
: Know thyself
Self reverence, self-knowledge, self-control,
these three alone lead to sovereign power
---Alfred Tennyson
Most oft quoted on self - Poloniouss
advice in Hemlet
To thine own self be true, and it must
follow as the night the day, thou canst not
then be false to any man

 Concept

of Emotional Intelligence
the ability to manage oneself and to
manage relationship with others
(one of the most important factor for
success in managers and leaders)
Self awareness - crucial aspect of
Emotional Intelligence in predicting
success
More powerful than cognitive
Intelligence or Intelligent Quotient

 She/he

that would govern others must

first master herself/himself
Self Management, depends on - Self
awareness
Developing self control, clarifying
priorities and goals (help individuals
create direction for own life)
Effective management of time and
stress
(help individuals adapt to and organize
surroundings)

 Problems

of Personal Management
Recognized symptoms Time pressures
Experienced stress
Symptoms are linked to more fundamental
problems of self awareness and out of
balance priorities
knowledge of oneself
- self awareness
- self insight
- self understanding
essential to ones productive personal and
interpersonal functioning and
in understanding and empathizing with
other people

Techniques and methods long

available for achieving self knowledge
group methods
meditation techniques
altered consciousness procedures
aromatherapy
assorted messages
physical exercise regimens
biofeedback

The Enigma
Connection

between Ones self-concept

and ones feeling about others
- Eric Fromm
Hatred against oneself is inseparable
from hatred against others
Self-awareness and self-acceptance are
prerequisites for psychological health,
personal growth, and the ability to know
and accept others - Carl Rogers

Brouwer asserted :
Function

of self examination is to lay foundation

for insight without which no growth can occur
Insight must consciously or unconsciously
precede change in behavior
Insights real, genuine glimpses of ourselves
as we really are
- are reached only with
difficulty and sometimes with real psychic pain
Insights are the building blocks of growth
Self examination is a preparation for insight, a
groundbreaking
for
the
seeds
of
self
understanding that gradually bloom into
changed behavior

 Knowledge

we posses about ourselves,

which make up our self concept, is central
to improving our management skills.
Empirical evidence suggests that
Individuals who are more self-aware are
healthier, perform better in managerial
and leadership roles, and are more
productive at work
Seeking knowledge of the self seems to be
enigma.
It is a prerequisite for and motivator of the
growth and improvement.
But it may also lead to stagnation because
of the fear of knowing more

The sensitive line

Point

at which individuals become

defensive or protective when
encountering information about
themselves that is inconsistent with
their self concept or when
encountering pressure to alter their
behavior
While crossing the sensitive line the
response is known as threat rigidity
response.

 When

individuals are threatened,

when they encounter uncomfortable
information, or when uncertainty is
created, they tend to become rigid.
They hunker down, protect
themselves, and become risk averse.
Individuals become psychologically
and emotionally rigid when they
encounter information that is a threat
to their self concept.
Crossing the sensitive line creates
rigidity and self-preservation

In such defensiveness, how can increased

self-knowledge and personal change
occur ?
Information that is verifiable, predictable
and controllable is less likely to cross the
sensitive line than information without
those characteristics.
If an individual can test the validity of the
discrepant information
If the information is not unexpected
If there is some control over what, when
and how much information is received,

 The

feedback is more likely to be

heard and accepted
Self assessment instruments have
been used in research
The reliability and validity of the
information have been established
One can gain important insight about
oneself from resultant scores of
those instruments

The second answer in overcoming resistance to

self-examination
Role of other people in helping insight to occur
We must interact with and disclose ourselves to
others
Self disclosure is a key to improvement in self
awareness
A lack of self-disclosure not only inhibits self
awareness but also may adversely affect other
aspects of managerial skill development
Low self-disclosures are less healthy and more
self-alienated than high self-disclosures
Involving others in the process of selfunderstanding is a critical aspect of ones
personal growth.

The support and feedback

individuals receive from
others during the process of
self disclosure, besides
helping to increase feedback
and self awareness, helps
information contribute to
greater self-awareness without
crossing the sensitive line.

Understanding and
Appreciating individual
Develop theDifferences
ability to diagnose important
differences among others with whom you
interact.
Managing diversity - Individuals
effectiveness as a manager is closely
related to his/her ability to recognize,
appreciate and ultimately utilize key,
fundamental differences among others.
The primary sources of diversity are
gender, age, culture and ethnicity

this chapter intends through

self awareness
to help better understand own
uniqueness as an individual to
become better equipped to
manage oneself
to help diagnose, value, and
utilize the differences one find in
other people

 Self-knowledge

will help you to understand

your own taken for granted assumptions,
trigger points, sensitive line, comfort zone,
strengths and weaknesses, and so forth.
This knowledge is useful for all of us to
change fundamental dimensions of ourselves
It helps make our interactions with others
more effective and insightful
It helps us gain a more complete
understanding of our potential for
contributing value in our future career roles
and our special strengths relative to others

Self-knowledge allows us to recognize our own

special gifts and strengths and to capitalize
on our own talents

Being aware of and empathetic toward, the

different perspectives, needs, and inclinations
of other people is a key part of emotional
intelligence and interpersonal maturity

Research
on
organizational
failure
has
repeatedly demonstrated that a lack of
diversity in the composition of key decision
making bodies makes it difficult for them to
recognize changes in their environment and to
respond in appropriately new and novel ways
(Cameron, Kim, & Whetten, 1987)

Differences versus distinctions (we observe

differences and we create distinctions)

Important Areas of Self

Awareness
Four most crucial
areas selfawareness that are
key in developing
successful
management
1.
2.
3.
4.

Personal values
Learning style
Orientation
toward change
Interpersonal
orientation

These have been found

to be most important
predictors of various
aspects of effective
managerial
performance such as
Achieving life success
Performing effectively
in teams
Competent decision
making
Life long learning and
development
Creativity
Communication
competency
Self-empowerment

1. Personal values
Values are among the most stable and enduring
characteristics of individuals.
Foundation, on which attitudes and personal
preferences are formed.
Basis for crucial decisions, life directions, and
personal tastes.
They help define our morality and our conceptions
of what is good.
Much of what we are is a product of the basic
values we have developed throughout our lives.
Core of the dynamics of behavior
Plays a large part in unifying personality
An individuals basic standards about what is good
and bad, worthwhile and worthless, desirable and
undesirable, true and false, moral and immoral
All other attitudes, orientations, and behaviors
arise out of an individuals values

Two major types of values are

Instrumental values
Terminal values
Research
findings
show
relationships
of
personal
development
to
successful
managerial performance in these
two types of values
Values

development is connected
to ethical decision making so the
implications of managerial ethics
is important

Learning Style

Manner in which individuals gather and

process information
Individual thought processes, perceptions,
and
methods for acquiring and storing
information.
Determines not only what kind of
information is received by an individual, but
how that information is interpreted, judged,
and responded to.

Empirical research linking learning style to

managerial behavior is to be discussed

Information gathering dimension

Information evaluation dimension

3. Orientation

toward change

methods people use to cope with change in their

environment.
identifies the adaptability of individuals.
includes the extent to which individuals are tolerant
of ambiguous conditions and
extent to which they are inclined to accept personal
responsibility
for their actions under changing conditions.
In the future all of us will be faced with increasingly
fragmented, rapidly changing, tumultuous
conditions. It is important that you become aware of
your orientation toward adapting to these
conditions

Two important dimensions are

Locus of control
Intolerance of ambiguity

4. Interpersonal orientation
tendency to interact in certain
ways with other people
determines the behavior patterns
that are most likely to emerge in
interactions with others.
extent to which an individual is
open or closed, assertive or retiring,
controlling or dependent,
affectionate or aloof
depends to a large degree on
interpersonal orientation.

Aspects of self awareness in

totality
many other aspects of self-awareness could

be considered emotions, attitudes,

temperament, personality, and interests
But all these aspects of the self are related
fundamentally to the four core concepts
discussed here.

What we value, how we feel about things,

how we behave toward others, what we want
to achieve, and what we are attracted to
all are strongly influenced by our values,
learning styles, orientation toward change
and interpersonal orientation.
These are the most important building blocks
on which other aspects of the self emerge.

Four aspects of self-awareness along with

their functions in defining the self concept
Values
Determine personal standards
and moral judgment

Attitudes
(toward change)

Learning style

Determine adaptability
and responsibility

Interpersonal needs
Determine preferences and
interaction patterns

Determines information
acquisition and evaluation

Cultural Values Dimensions

Values
Dimensions

Explanation

Example of Countries with

Dominance

Universalism

Societal rules and norms are valued

USA, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden

Particularism

Individual relationships are valued

Korea, Venezuela, China, Indonesia

Individualism

Individual contributions are valued

USA, Nigeria, Denmark, Austria

Collectivism

Team contributions are valued

Mexico, Indonesia, Japan, Philippines

Affective

Showing emotions are valued

Iran, Spain, France, Switzerland

Neutral

Unemotional responses are valued

Korea, Ethiopia, China, Japan

Specific

Segregating lifes roles is valued

Holland, Sweden, Denmark, UK

Diffuse

Integrating lifes roles is valued

China, Nigeria, Singapore, Korea

Achievement

Personal accomplishment is valued

USA, Norway, Canada, Austria

Ascription

Inherent attributes are valued

Egypt, Indonesia, Korea, Czech Rep.

Past & Present

Past is tightly connected to future

France, Japan, UK

Future

Future is disconnected but valued

USA, Holland

Internal

Individual control is valued

USA, Canada, Austria, UK

External

Control comes from outside forces

Czech Republic, Japan, Egypt, China

Core aspects of Self-Awareness

and the Managerial Implications
Values
priorities and
values
maturity
Attitudes
toward
change

Self-understanding
and selfmanagement
Learning
style

Interpersonal
orientation

Emotional
Intelligence

Understanding
differences in
others