Self-awareness is a job performance differentiator. According to Dr. Travis Bradbury, 83% of top performers are aware of their strengths and weaknesses, as compared to only 2% of low performers. While some people are naturally more self-aware than others, we can all benefit from development in this area, particularly when moving into a new role or leadership position.

After implementing an executive coaching program for a group of senior leaders several years ago, their main feedback was that they wished they had this opportunity earlier in their careers. I could not agree more, and we proceeded to expand our program to offer those services to more junior leaders. Why is that? Largely because the skills required to be successful as a leader are often different from the ones that make individual contributors successful (William Gentry’s book “Be the Boss Everyone Wants to Work For,” provides an excellent deep dive in this area).

For example, problem solving is often a valuable skill for a technical expert. However, continuing to heavily rely on that skill when moving into a leadership role could negatively impact direct reports’ ability to develop their own critical thinking skills. Not to say that problem solving is no longer important as a leader; rather, it may just have a different “sweet spot.” This is fairly common pattern and one that I recognized in myself when I had the opportunity to take some leadership assessments in the context of pursuing my executive coaching certification. Thankfully, I subsequently had the opportunity to course-correct in this area when leading a team of very competent, autonomous individuals. Had I not used a more empowering leadership style in this new role, it could have negatively impacted my team’s creativity, engagement, and motivation. For me, making this change involved leaning more on some of my other strengths and values (e.g., empathy, altruism) to help dial up my curiosity and dial down my problem solving. Making these adjustments not only helped me improve as a leader, it also helped me become a better coach, consultant, wife, and mom.

What strength might you dial down or use in a different way to improve your job performance or relationships?