The Balanced Leader
One of the most critical aspects of a good leader is understanding yourself; your current position, strengths, weaknesses, and the environment in which your team operates. Without this self-awareness, you risk stagnation, misdirection, and losing touch with your team’s needs. Self-awareness is the foundation for guiding teams toward greater success, securing necessary support, and providing valuable insights. To be an effective leader, you must first know where you stand.
This self-awareness is twofold: understanding your own actions and goals (internal self-awareness) and how others perceive you (external self-awareness). Without this dual awareness, it becomes difficult to guide your team effectively or build the necessary support your team needs to execute their duties effectively.
Tasha Eurich’s research, outlined in her Harvard Business Review article, "What Self-Awareness Really Is (and How to Cultivate It)", found that self-awareness is a rare trait—only 10-15% of people possess it. This makes developing both internal and external awareness even more critical for leaders. Leaders with high internal self-awareness are better at assessing their values, emotions, strengths, and weaknesses, which helps in making thoughtful decisions. Similarly, leaders with high external self-awareness understand how their actions impact others, which fosters stronger relationships and higher team satisfaction. Developing self-awareness allows leaders to address biases and blind spots, building trust and credibility within their teams.
Humility: A Cornerstone of Leadership
Humility and vulnerability is often misunderstood as a weakness, but it is a core strength for effective leaders. Humility enables leaders to remain grounded and open to feedback, which alows them to remain teachable and leads to continuous improvement. Research from the Journal of Organizational Behavior article, "Humble Leadership: A Review and Synthesis of Organizational Research", highlights that humble leaders are more effective in empowering their teams and creating collaborative environments, which boosts overall team performance.
Humility also plays a critical role in improving both internal and external self-awareness. Eurich emphasizes that humble leaders actively seek feedback from others, which enhances external self-awareness. This feedback loop allows leaders to adjust their behavior based on how they are perceived by their teams, fostering a culture of trust and openness. Humble leaders are also more likely to question their assumptions, continuously refining their internal self-awareness.
By practicing humility, leaders are better equipped to conduct honest self-assessments—acknowledging both strengths and areas for growth. Humility encourages a culture of learning and adaptability, enabling leaders to model resilience and improvement. Without humility, leaders risk stagnation, unable to identify areas for personal and team development.
Leadership is Not Black and White
Leadership often operates in a nuanced "gray area" that requires balancing competing forces. This concept is well articulated in the book, The Dichotomy of Leadership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin, which highlights the ongoing balancing act leaders face.
Embracing this balance brings clarity, as leaders recognize that not every situation requires the same approach. The key lies in adapting and making measured decisions based on what each individual situation calls for. Flexibility is essential in dynamic environments where rigid adherence to one style can lead to failure.
The Role of Ego in Leadership
One of the greatest challenges for leaders is overcoming their own ego. Ego can distort a leader's perception, especially in moments of success or failure. When things are going well, ego can make leaders believe they are infallible, causing them to overlook potential problems. During tough times, ego may shift blame onto external factors and shifting blame to others, preventing honest introspection.
Eurich’s study suggests that experience and power can hinder self-awareness. Senior leaders often become overconfident in their abilities and are less likely to seek feedback. This overconfidence creates blind spots, preventing leaders from recognizing their weaknesses or understanding how their actions impact others. However, leaders who actively seek feedback from "loving critics" (people who care about their success but provide constructive criticism) are more likely to remain grounded and improve their leadership effectiveness.
A study titled "Failure at the Top: How Power Undermines Collaborative Performance" explores how power can erode a leader’s ability to collaborate and engage with their teams effectively. It reveals that leaders who rise to power often lose their capacity for perspective-taking—the ability to understand and empathize with others' views. This loss of perspective leads to a decline in collaborative performance and inhibits team cohesion. The study found that when leaders focus too much on maintaining their power and ego, they create environments where collaboration breaks down, harming both performance and morale.
On the other hand, leaders who set aside their egos and take responsibility for their mistakes foster a culture of accountability and continuous improvement. Recognizing shortfalls and striving for balance is not a weakness but a hallmark of strong, reflective leadership.
The Power of Balance in Leadership
Recognizing the nuances and embracing the balancing act of leadership empowers leaders to remain calm, adaptable, and confident. Whether balancing between providing direction and allowing autonomy or between empathy and objectivity, leaders who achieve this equilibrium are better positioned to inspire and guide their teams effectively. Balance is one of a leader’s most powerful tools, providing the perspective needed for long-term effectiveness.
The journey to becoming a great leader starts with self-awareness, humility, and a willingness to find balance. These elements are crucial for personal growth, empowering teams, and sustaining a healthy, long-term approach to leadership. Leadership isn’t about being perfect—it’s about constantly striving for improvement, opening the door to growth for both the leader and their team.
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Citations:
1. Eurich, T. (2018). "What Self-Awareness Really Is (and How to Cultivate It)". Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2018/01/what-self-awareness-really-is-and-how-to-cultivate-it
2. Kelemen, T. K., Matthews, S. H., Matthews, M. J., & Henry, S. E. (2022). “Humble leadership: A review and synthesis of leader expressed humility”. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 44(2), 202–224. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/job.2608
3. Willink, J., & Babin, L. (2018). The Dichotomy of Leadership.
4. Hildreth, J. A. D., & Anderson, C. (2016). “Failure at the top: How power undermines collaborative performance”. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 110(2), 261–286. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000045