Active Perception Allows Better Engagement and Better Decision-Making

   Leaders set the tone for their organizations. As a result, leaders must stay aware of the emotional climate in which they operate—especially in a crisis situation, like a multiyear pandemic. Whether you want to call this empathy, emotional intelligence or conscious leadership, it encompasses skills that good leaders must nurture.

   Some say that women leaders better engage with these qualities, though regardless of gender, leaders should understand the benefits of being aware of those around them—and not just engaging with them, but actively hearing their concerns and ideas. In a July 2015 article for the Society for Human Resource Management, Tamara Lytle said that “72 percent of employees ranked ‘respectful treatment of all employees at all levels’ as the top factor in job satisfaction.”

   A good place to begin cultivating that situational engagement is with yourself—self-awareness. In an October 2018 article for the Harvard Business Review, Tasha Eurich wrote that although 95% of people think they’re self-aware, only 10% to 15% actually are. Eurich further said, “Un-self-aware colleagues aren’t just frustrating; they can cut a team’s chances of success in half. According to our research, other consequences of working with unaware colleagues include increased stress, decreased motivation, and a greater likelihood of leaving one’s job.”

   A good way to gauge your self-awareness—and secure membership in that 10% to 15% of truly self-aware—is to evaluate your own performance, then seek feedback about yourself from bosses, peers and direct reports—people at all levels. If there are vast differences between self-perception and the perception of you within the organization, there may be some work to do.

   One area where some people fall down is their reaction to bad news or bad results. Professional sports provide us with plenty of examples of bad reactions: screamers, clipboard throwers, pouters. (That’s not to say sports leaders are bad—there are plenty of good sports leaders.) A friend, who owned an international transportation company, also was an avid sailboat racer—winning trophies from the Atlantic to Pacific (and plenty in the Great Lakes), his name joining those of America’s Cup winners. He loved winning, but his best leadership showed on bad days: no. shouting, no raging, no stamping, stomping or pouting—what always came out was his love of sailing. He loved his sport, and his spirit buoyed his crew whether or not they hoisted a trophy. Even better, that spirit lifted his crew of amateurs—friends and neighbors—to challenge, and often defeat, crews packed with professionals.

   So a big part of self-awareness is engaging with your own emotions and putting them in their proper context, so your team has a model for the way you want your workplace to function. Do you want shouting and recriminations that lead to distrust and turmoil? Or do you want a team that may suffer a setback, but turns that adversity into an opportunity for future success.

   A self-aware leader is better positioned to manage relationships with others—better able to influence, mentor and lead others, better able to be a steady hand when things get tough, more likely to be trusted to do the right thing when conflicts arise.

   I’ve talked about active perception, about making sure all voices are heard. Part of self-awareness also includes being able to make a decision, even if there isn’t a consensus. People will respect a leader who makes an informed decision, as long as they got their say and know it was heard—that “respectful treatment” noted above. It might be a tough conversation, but people respect honesty.

   That’s also part of “reading the room,” as they say—the ability to recognize others’ emotions and how that affects your team and its results. When people are working at contrary purposes, it does no good. A conscious, respectful understanding of others’ feelings, motivations and priorities is a great step toward success.