How Awareness Fosters A Leader's Mindset

Posted on June 11, 2025 

Leaders, professionals and entrepreneurs are facing an unprecedented, fast paced and complex world. When navigating such an environment, awareness is not just a nice to have it is an absolute necessity. A leader's ability to be truly aware—of themselves, their team, their organization, and the wider world—is crucial for navigating challenges, fostering growth, and achieving sustainable success. The first step in the process is understanding what awareness is.

What is Awareness?

Awareness as I see it is a transfer of energy that brings attention to some aspect of life. It is a prompting that calls us to take a course of action, reflect on the implications of a situation or process emotions that bubble to the surface. Awareness comes in many forms and serves different roles. For example, the energy that is present in self-awareness prompts a person toward introspection. It seeks to create a roadmap of the motivations, emotions and internal narratives that are constantly running almost on autopilot in the background. Similarly the energy that is present in situational awareness prompts a person to create a context of the interactions one has with their environment.

When Do Leaders Develop Awareness?

Active engagement with awareness happens during moments of profound change in any leader's life. Usually these profound changes stem from a sense of dissatisfaction with their present situation, changes in the needs of each leader and those of their organizations, and most significantly in moments of crisis. Moving towards a place of awareness is key. However, engaging with this energy during these intense moments would be akin to building a bicycle while riding it downhill. Therefore to be effective a leader must develop protocols that are proactive and intentional long before the inevitable significant life events present themselves.

Awareness Creates a Compelling Vision

Leaders who practice deliberate self-awareness know that their level of awareness increases to the degree of richness and the accuracy of their personal narrative. These leaders are more effective and create a compelling vision for themselves and their organizations. They speak with conviction, act decisively and evoke the sentiments that set the right tone to propel them towards each challenge with purpose.

Active Self-Awareness

Awareness and particularly self-awareness doesn't occur instantly. It develops over time and requires active participation. There are different ways one might arrive at having a fully developed level of self-awareness. One is using a self-awareness journal. As mentioned earlier, self-awareness leads one towards introspection. Overtime the actions, emotions and internal narratives will form an image that can provide useful insights to give them a better understanding of their approach to leadership. Where necessary journaling highlights areas leaders can begin to address.

Journaling in Self-Awareness

It is imperative to have a clear point of origin [such as journaling] when tackling the concept of awareness. Journaling allows a leader to perform a self-assessment. They conduct a personal appraisal of their self-concept. This clear point of origin creates a structure that offers an engaging yet transformative process. Here are some initial questions to ponder as you journal:

1. How can developing my self-awareness as a leader develop my self-concept?
2. How will my self-concept as a leader help me meet the challenges I will inevitably face?
3. How can self-awareness help me identify my leadership style?

Lessons in Self-Awareness

Lessons gained in self-awareness do not occur all at once. Therefore to answer these questions effectively your journal entry logs need to be consistent to track the patterns in thoughts, emotions and actions that build out your self-concept. Time and reflection are necessary. The longer this process is delayed the greater the effort required to address, resolve and confront underlying issues in order to have a transformative experience. Leaders who ignore this may remain stuck in the perpetual slumber of life, end up besotted by the depredations of their own internal conflicts. Worse yet, they may realize that they are at the mercy of circumstances with tools in their very possession they have yet to master.

Challenges in Awareness

When developing awareness some challenges may present themselves. Leaders will inevitably experience unease in confronting some of the forms that take shape. They may feel unmoored when they delve into the structures that start to form. The structures take the form of internal narratives they may have unintentionally cultivated about themselves and the habits that emerge from them. They may feel overwhelmed by the enormity of the subject. It is important to understand that this is a normal part of the process. This feeling is like the initial stages of riding a bicycle. Although it may seem daunting at first, with effort and consistency it will eventually become second nature. Leaders who take this active step become better at guiding their thoughts towards the correct internal dialogue. They become better at regulating their emotions through challenges and act with clear intention and resolve.

Key Takeaways

Leaders who develop and practice awareness become decisive, develop resilience and are better equipped to navigate through challenges in a complex and evolving world. Here is a quick recap in developing awareness:

1. Awareness is a transfer of energy that brings attention to some aspect of life.
2. Awareness doesn't occur instantly. It happens over time and requires active participation.
3. Leaders must develop proactive and intentional protocols that develop their awareness.
4. It is imperative to have a clear point of origin [such as journaling] when tackling the concept of awareness.
5. Reflect on the journal entries to improve your awareness.
6. Self-aware leaders are better at guiding their thoughts, regulating their emotions and acting with clear resolve and intention.

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