May 17, 2017
Dr. Tasha Eurich shares her experiences as an
organizational psychologist, researcher, coach, and New York Times
bestselling author along with her new book, Insight for
improving self-awareness. Tasha explains the dangers
inherent in poor self-awareness in leaders, individuals, and teams,
and she provides specific solutions for achieving the
self-awareness that will improve corporate culture, and client
relations while supporting sustainable profit. Listen in for key
self-awareness practices, and to download her free self-awareness
quiz.
Key Takeaways
[2:38] Tasha discusses self-awareness at work. There
are severe consequences in the workplace when people believe
falsely they are self-aware. Having more self-aware executives
brings financial returns to a company. Unaware behavior at any
level has financial consequences. Tasha’s research says we live in
a world where people don’t tell each other the truth, because the
truth is uncomfortable.
[6:10] Tasha worked with 50 people who had made
dramatic transformations in their self-awareness as adults. Many
common methods of finding self-awareness are more myth than
reality. Jan and Jim were in the group of 50 test subjects. Tasha
found that ‘unicorns,’ as she terms them, fight against personal
and societal defaults to arrive at self-awareness. Unicorns seek
feedback from people they trust.
[12:08] Tasha discusses psychic frailty and psychic
safety. Our biases tell us we are better than we are. Seeking
feedback from others exposes our frailty. Psychological safety in
organizations involves self-aware teams and organizations. It
requires people to let their guard down and trust and support each
other enough to tell each other the truth. It includes
vulnerability.
[14:50] We assume that the people that love us will
tell us the truth, but research shows, they will tell us neither
our weaknesses nor our strengths, without being asked. Ask them,
“What annoys you the most about me?” You might hear something
you’ve never heard before. It’s up to you to ask those
questions.
[18:18] Tasha gives an example of one of her
self-awareness heroes, Alan Mulally (of Boeing Commercial and of
Ford Motor Company). Tasha saw a person who has self-confidence,
but who acutely appreciates his weaknesses, and is constantly
questioning his performance. She illustrates this with an
anecdote.
[20:06] Tasha says unicorns are willing to admit what
they don’t do well and question their own view. They also have self
confidence. Tasha’s research differentiates between people who have
unwarranted high self-esteem, and people who have self-acceptance.
Self-acceptance is to appreciate your own strengths and weaknesses,
and be willing to forgive yourself for your flaws, and find out the
truth.
[21:43] Tasha offers cues to look for in your team to
see whether someone needs to be coached for self-awareness. Look
for those who speak about themselves in a way inconsistent with
their behavior, or with other’s perceptions of them. Coaching for
those who are willfully disruptive is different than coaching for
someone who is ignorantly ineffective.
[24:48] Tasha offers suggestions on feedback in the
organization. The mindset of giving feedback only once a year leads
to embarrassment about problems that are not mentioned as they
occur. At the very least, offer regular touch points of feedback
that are informal and in the moment, to reap the biggest benefits
of self-awareness and improved daily performance. Tasha tells how
teams can do this.
[28:07] Tasha offers thoughts on team awareness and
individual awareness. Tasha tells of three building blocks for
self-aware teams: a leader who models the way, the expectation and
accountability to tell the truth, and an ongoing process to stay
self-aware. You need an agreement to constantly check in with each
team member, and the collective team, to stay self-aware
together.
[36:56] First-time CEO’s can suddenly find an absence
of feedback. Tasha talks about Ed Catmull of Pixar., who, on
becoming the boss, knew that he wasn’t any different, but the
second he showed up in that new title, he knew the employees saw
him differently.
[38:10] Tasha talks about the adversity of looking
for a new job. Don’t wait until you wake up one day and find you
need a new job. Ask yourself everyday what you did that day that
fit your passion, or what you did today that you never want to do
again. The cumulative effect of these questions can lead to
self-awareness. Don’t wait for a big event, like a job loss, to
catalyze insight.
[41:48] Tasha explains the Candor Challenge.
Self-aware teams commit to doing this at least once a year. It’s a
process of individual openness with the full team about the
positive, the negative, and areas for improvement for each member,
and commitments for accountability. Tasha includes a worksheet to
download from Insight-book.com.
Website: Insight-book.com
Quiz: Insight-quiz.com Fill out a free quiz to discover
your level of self-awareness.
Twitter: @TashaEurich
LinkedIn: Tasha
Eurich
Faceboook: Tasha
Eurich
Books Mentioned in This Episode
Insight: Why We’re Not as
Self-Aware as We Think, and How Seeing Ourselves Clearly Helps Us
Succeed at Work and In Life, by Dr. Tasha
Eurich
Courage: The Backbone of Leadership, by Gus
Lee
With Schwarzkopf: Life Lessons of The Bear, by Gus
Lee
Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the
Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead, by Brené
Brown
Reinvention Roadmap: Break the Rules to Get the Job You Want
and Career You Deserve, by Liz Ryan
The Six Question Process
by Marshall Goldsmith
Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ, by
Daniel Goleman
What Got You Here Won't Get You There: A Round Table Comic: How
Successful People Become Even More Successful, by Marshall
Goldsmith
Bio
Dr. Tasha Eurich is an organizational psychologist, researcher, and
New York Times bestselling author (Bankable Leadership). She is
also the founder of The Eurich Group, where she’s helped thousands
of leaders and teams improve their effectiveness through greater
self-awareness. She’s been named one of Denver Business Journal’s
”40 Under 40,” as well as a “Top 100 Thought Leader” by Trust
Across America.