I can say with great conviction that the happiness I have enjoyed while working in dental practices over the years is due to my developing self-awareness.
My developing self-awareness is also responsible for my ability to work in harmony with others and be a strong contributor.
It is also thanks to my developing self-awareness that I can gain access to the ‘best version’ of those with whom I work.
Self-awareness is a journey – a discovery – of why you behave the way you do. It is an introspection to find out what your values, beliefs are and what drives your behaviour. Understanding yourself better is the first step towards making helpful changes to improve your experience of life.
Team members who have high self-awareness are more likely to deliver a stronger performance, are happier and more easily adapt to change. They are better trainers and less judgmental of those around them. Self-aware team members are more conscious of their strengths and weaknesses and take steps to consistently improve their performance.
Because of the wonderful impact that deeper self-awareness has on both individual team members and the team as a whole, I suggest that the next seminar or workshop for your team is not dental related at all.
Providing opportunities for your team (including the boss) to develop self-awareness will have a direct and immediate impact on your team harmony and productivity. You will find team members become more engaged in the business and exhibit greater generosity to each other. They become much better problem-solvers and takers of responsibility.
Here’s a few tips to start your team on their self-awareness journey:
- Get every member to read “Passionate People Produce” by Charles Kovess.
Charles is the co-founder of JPPS. However, for the past 24 years he has been inspiring and empowering people to make effective and positive changes in their lives. In his book Passionate People Produce, Charles takes the reader on a journey of self-awareness and reveals strategies to help them achieve their potential.
- Take a Personality Profile seminar.
Popular personality tests such as Myers-Briggs and DISC are fun to do as a team. They are powerful in that they identify the differences between all of us, helping team members to discover how to get the best out of themselves, and each other.
- Establish a yearly budget dedicated to personal development.
Many great ideas get lost in the busy-ness of work. Avoid losing momentum by establishing a budget for the coming year. Get your team involved in researching available workshops, webinars, books and podcasts and then enter them in your calendars.
- Put the JPPS blog into practice.
Go to my blog posts under the categories of ‘Leadership’, ‘Personal Performance’ and ‘Team Management’. There are many helpful insights that you can implement straight away as a team.
- Make it a regular game in your team meetings for each team member, and the boss, to disclose one weakness or lack of skill.
It is such a nonsense for any of us to pretend that we don’t have any weaknesses. Yet, most of us do this, because we hate looking foolish or inadequate. By practising the disclosure of weaknesses, it makes us more real, more honest, more open and much more understanding of why fellow team members might not be perfect!
Placing extra importance on your teams’ emotional and psychological development will improve their experience of life, and your experience of them.
(To purchase your copy of the Charles Kovess book, Passionate People Produce, CLICK HERE, or contact me directly HERE.)
