Building self-awareness

Golden Circles

Golden Circles is a business model developed by Simon Sinek, which describes an effective approach to communication and marketing. In short, this model suggests that it is best to sell products or services that are based on “why”, i.e., the company’s mission and values. The company should focus on three elements: what it does, why it does it, and for whom it does it. In relation to a leader’s work, the Golden Circles model allows you to define your “Why”, i.e., why you are a leader and what team members can expect from you in connection with this.

Step 1:
WHY

Why It refers to the deep reason for your work (or the existence of the company, its mission). “Why” is the foundation for all actions and is the answer to the question “what for?” you act in a given way. In the case of effective implementation of the “why”, companies are able to build strong engagement and loyalty from their customers; and when you, as a leader, understand why and what for you are doing something, you will be able to inspire co-workers and guide them to the goal.

Ask yourself the questions:
Why are you doing this? / What is your goal in this?

Step 2:
HOW

“How” on a long-term level are tools, methods, values, and ways of achieving goals. At the operational level, however, these are specific actions that we implement, i.e., how we will reach the goal we defined in “Why”. “How” describes how you act as a leader (or how the company operates and stands out from the competition), as well as what approach you use in your work.

Ask the questions:
How do you do it? / What does the process look like?

Step 3:
WHAT

What It refers to what results from your work: arranged processes, created tools, mentoring programs, training, tasks in Jira, etc. In the context of a company, What refers to the products or services the company offers. What the company provides to its customers and what benefits it brings them. “What” is the most obvious and direct aspect of your work and the company’s activities. It is the products or services that constitute direct value for customers and are decisive for their purchase. In turn, in your work, the team’s results are your What.

Ask the questions:
What do you do? / What is the result of the actions?

Step 4:
Exercise

Think and complete the sentence: I am the type of leader who…
Then check with the team how they perceive you, your leadership style, “What”, and “Why”

Other tools  in the area of
Building self-awareness

Learning styles

Learning styles is a mini tool (test), showing learning and “character” preferences that play an important role in the process of building awareness of the competencies of oneself and team members. Who do you have on your team?

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Johari Window

The Johari Window is a tool used to illustrate the degree of one’s self-awareness and mutual understanding among group members. It proposes four levels helping to provide feedback and self-assessment. What do you communicate to others? Are you sure it is what you want?

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Working on values

Building awareness of values is a process of identifying, understanding, and acknowledging life and business values that guide our actions, decisions, and priorities. What is important to you? Is it really the same as what is important to your company?

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