7 Ways that Strengthening Your Self-Awareness will Benefit Your Relationships

Self-awareness is one of the most powerful qualities that you can possess. In addition to helping your personal relationships blossom, self-awareness bolsters team performance and productivity at work. Below are the top seven ways that strengthening your self-awareness will lead to better relationships in and out of the workplace.

1) You will become a more effective leader

Psychologist Daniel Goldman is one of many experts who suggest that "good leaders are those who have mastered self-awareness." Goldman highlights self-awareness as an integral quality of emotionally intelligent people, who tend to make effective leaders.

Self-aware, emotionally intelligent people tend to be empathetic and effective managers of relationships. Most importantly, they are able to make sound decisions under highly stressful, emotionally-charged circumstances that arise inside and outside the workplace.

2) Your relationships will mature faster

Studies show a strong link between self-awareness and transparency. Glenn Llopis examines this concept and the link between transparency and relationships in his analysis of employee behavior:

"It is also important to note that transparency allows relationships to mature faster, as openness can potentially avoid misunderstandings that can fuel unnecessary tension."

- Glenn Llopis, President and CEO of Glenn Llopis Group

When relationships mature faster within the workplace, employees are able to interact more seamlessly with one another and devote their energies to achieving company goals. The same concept can easily be applied to relationships outside of work, with self-awareness serving as one of the keys to openness. This helps eliminate the tension that can develop when people are not clear with one another.

3) Your teams will perform at a higher level

"What was kind of surprising is that this kind of influence, this effect of self awareness, has a higher-level impact than we expected. It not only impacts you, but it impacts your team. It impacted the quality of decision-making, teamwork, coordinating with other people, effectively managing conflict. Basically, we found that if you're in a team in which people are just not accurately self-aware, you have about half the chance of success."

- Erich Dierdorff, Assoc. Professor of Management, DePaul University College of Business

Seamless teamwork is essential to efficient, high-functioning business operations. Researchers point to self-awareness as a key driver of productive teamwork and some even refer to self-awareness as a game changer in successful team collaboration. Leadership expert Yosh Beier highlights the following ways that self-awareness can become a game changer in team relationships:

• Self-aware people are less likely to respond in a defensive manner to feedback.

• Team members who are self-aware are less likely to dominate the conversation or insist on their point of view.

• Self-aware team members are less likely to harbor resentment without acknowledging it.

While these benefits are attractive, it is important to remember that self-awareness does not develop overnight. It can take years for some people to understand what drives their actions and they often need guidance and continued feedback in order to become fully self-aware.  

4) You can discuss differences with dignity

Virtually every couple experiences arguments or disagreements. However, self-aware individuals are able to discuss their differences with friends, spouses, and co-workers fully and honestly. They are more apt to refrain from berating their partners and are not concerned with "winning" an argument. They disagree with each other in a gracious, dignified fashion and ultimately understand and respect each other's differences.

5) You will be more valuable to your employer

"Self-awareness — a characteristic essential to career success and improved executive leadership - also appears to correlate with overall company financial performance. A new analysis of results from Korn/Ferry International's ProSpective Assessment shows that companies with a higher rate of return (ROR) also employ professionals who exhibit higher levels of self-awareness."

- David Zes and Dana Landis, The Korn / Ferry Institute

As highlighted by The Korn/Ferry Institute, companies with self-aware employees enjoy a healthier bottom line. Hiring managers who have discovered this correlation sometimes employ tools to measure self-awareness during the hiring process in an effort to hire employees who already possess a high level of self-awareness.

6) You are more apt to be proactive and sensitive to others' values

The power of self-awareness is just as apparent among children as it is among adults. Ignacio Lopez, author of "Keeping It Real And Relevant," explores how powerful self-awareness can be for students in their efforts to build and maintain relationships with peers. Lopez notes that students possessing strong self-awareness skills are more apt to do the following:

• Respect the religious and cultural values of other students in their classes

• Understand their personal strengths and weaknesses

• Recognize the needs of fellow students who struggle with some classroom materials

• Show that they are able to express their feelings

7) Self-awareness helps you develop intimate bonds with others

"Self-awareness is important for a successful intimate relationship because only when you attain Self-Awareness you can understand the factors which cause you to harm your relationships over and over again. Only then you can de-activate the power they exert over you and become empowered to develop a successful and satisfying bond."

- Doron Gil, Ph.D.

Intimacy problems plague men and women across the globe. Some people are fearful of intimate relationships while others seem to be caught in a pattern of unstable relationships. Psychologists such as Doron Gil point to self-awareness as the key to understanding the recurrent behaviors and issues that are destructive in relationships. By gaining an understanding of these factors, individuals can develop lasting bonds with loved ones.  

The Bottom Line

Self-awareness plays a pivotal role in an individual's ability to build fruitful relationships at work and outside the office. Developing self-awareness takes time, but people who become fully self-aware will become effective team members and earn the trust of their co-workers more quickly. Outside the office, they are able to build intimate relationships with greater ease and are more sensitive to the needs of family members, spouses, and friends.