In this podcast episode, hosts Merv Jersak and Tim Jerome discuss the pivotal role of self-awareness in enhancing project management outcomes. The conversation delves into the definition of self-awareness, its components such as emotional awareness and self-assessment, and how it contributes to better decision-making and improved relationships. They emphasize that developing self-awareness is an ongoing process that leads to stronger self-control and emotional regulation. Challenges in developing self-awareness, such as biases and overthinking, are also addressed, highlighting their impacts on personal and professional growth. This discussion is foundational for the upcoming exploration of self-control in the subsequent episode.

Main Take-Aways

The project leader will be more successful in his or her endeavors by continued improvement in the area of emotional intelligence. The first step in developing a strong emotional intelligence, in the opinion of the hosts, is to become more self-aware:

• learn to know yourself – emotional triggers, biases, opinions, interactions with those around you
• understand the benefits of self-awareness
• understand the challenges to overcome on the path to becoming more self-aware
• Show Notes

Today’s Project Managers Coffee Chat: The Emotionally Agile Project Manager – First Step, Self-Awareness

00:54 Introducing self-awareness as the critical base for emotional intelligence with a layperson’s definition – simply stated, “know thyself”.

03:05 Components of self-awareness include being aware of your emotional triggers, viewing how you interact with the world, being honest with who you are, doing a self-assessment to understand your own biases and opinions, developing self-confidence, and building up to the point of self-control/self-regulation.

07:41 The benefits of becoming more self-aware include such items as better decision making, improved relationships, enhancing your leadership skills, better stress management, better understanding when navigating conflict situations, etc..

12:20 The challenges in developing self-awareness include such items as not taking the time to see yourself clearly, not being honest with yourself, your biases, your innate hubris, the way you were reared, overthinking or oversimplifying the situation, second-guessing yourself, etc..

19:43 Summarizing the topic of becoming more self-aware.