What is the distance between the person you are, the person you want to be, and the person you believe others believe you are?
This distance forms a split that people around you will pick up, believe it or not. The wider the split, the more the people around us will notice. We are all constantly picking up these subtle signals, which greatly impact our decision-making. Most often, this happens unconsciously.
Since the beginning of time, our brains constantly scan for threats. As a result, we automatically feel insecure when we sense that someone’s underlying intentions aren’t pure and genuine. This type of inconsistency – or split – will be perceived as some sort of a threat materializing as an absence of trust and connection. In short, people with a low level of self-awareness normally have a wider “split”, which causes people around them to feel threatened and uncomfortable.
If you are true to yourself, the split reduces, and people around you are much more likely to trust you and thus follow you as a leader.
Self-awareness is the foundation for all forms of leadership.
