We are encouraged to be more Self-Aware in order to enhance our professional and leadership contribution. In this effort, we should become more emotionally self-aware, and not overlook our emotions.
Are you aware of your emotions? How do you experience emotions as subjective feelings and physical (somatic) sensations? Do you notice them? Do you acknowledge them? Do you own them? Do you use them as data to inform your Self-Awareness and awareness of what's going on around you? Maybe your gut feelings can guide you to better decisions when you are tuned in to them.
How do your emotions resonate with the emotions of the people around you. Are some emotional displays more contagious than others? As a coach, my emotional response to what is happening in the coaching room is data that I can offer to the coachee. I ask the coachee to do the same. It takes a bit of getting used to: recognizing and naming our feelings and talking about them as data rather than turning them into judgements.
How do you feel about these questions?
Here are the #Leadership #Coaching #Questions I asked on Twitter in September. I share this work in progress in the spirit of working out loud. Thank you to the clients, friends, authors and serendipity that inspired the questions. Notice which questions are productive for you and tell me where they take you. You can read more as I post them here. Enjoy the journey.
How do you explain to younger people how much Experience is enough?
Are you becoming what you share on Social Media ?
What are you most proud of in your Career?
What is your Goal for next week?
Who makes your money?
How do you advise an Expert to be led by you - a Generalist ?
Have you audited your Presence yet this year?
Do you ask for more Responsibility or do you take it?
If you have no Attention Span what can you do instead?
How would you work differently with your colleague today, if you were assessing your compatibility and capability to start a business together in the future?
Do you appear to others as Self-confident as you feel?
Are you comfortable at work, or complacent on Wednesdays ?
How long does it take you to tell yourself that you made a bad hire?
What are your boundary rituals? How do you enter and exit?
Do you think of your Emotions as Resources or Enemies to your growth as a leader?
Curious or consistent ?
How elastic is your thinking ?
Are you still sabotaging yourself?
Of your Direct Reports whose Emotions are most Contagious ?
How much value has your Out-Of-Office-Message added this year ?
Are you leading with Curiosity ? leadership creativity
How are you debiasing your leadership?
Whose initiatives do you resist most?
Has email put your boss out of a job?
How will your Peers perceive you when you Interrupt your boss in the team meeting ?
Who enjoys your Comfort Zone more than you do?
Who is your Frenemy at work?
‘I have some feedback about your deputy’s behaviour but please don’t mention my name' What will you do next?
Do you thrive in adversity?
Can your staff differentiate what they need from what they want?
Are you still holding yourself back?
Leader: how millennial are you?
How has your anxiety evolved?
Does 'Do No Harm' belong in your leadership ethic ?
Who is responsible for thinking in your organization?
Does Self Promotion feel like ethical self-demotion ?
How do you monitor EQ levels around you?
Whose broken Promises are not mended by time?
Why do you want to be right?
What have you learnt from how you adopt new technologies ?
What will you do when your Brand and your Purpose disagree?
Can’t you?
What would Zero-based leadership look like?
Do you tell the Trainer or Facilitator how you learn best?
Do you have to Enthuse people for them to implement your Change Objectives ?
How motivated was your team yesterday?
When did you last check your biases ? Check meaning block or verify?
What habits shield you from authority ?
Are your feelings your friends?
Can you explain how your Leadership gets Results ?
Can Artificial Intelligence help you lead more authentically?
Does your firm value Intellectual Humility?
Does your project need more foxes or hedgehogs?
Why are you late?
Is there any way back up the slippery slope?
What can you sum up in three words?
How can your team work better together?
Where does your creativity come from?
Who is driving your Strategy?
What is the Observer Effect on your work?
Do your points hit the target?
How do you destroy trust?
Does your Anger reflex have a pause button?
Have you met an Emotionally Intelligent leader?
How are you sharpening your perception of yourself and others?
When are you at your best?
What are you doing to attract the best talent to your business?
Have you noticed how your listening helped you this week?
Disruption or the fear of disruption - which is the greater threat?
Does your firm’s Behaviour demonstrate that connectedness is an opportunity?
Do you take a theoretical holidays?
Whose pebbles ripple your pond?
How will you know if your colleagues who work from home are Lonely ?
How does your office lighting influence your decisions?
Do you need to have a career Plan up our sleeve?
Can you Coach someone into Compliance ?
How many potential successors is enough?
Who will you play for on Monday?
Can you project a sticky vision?
Do your company's leaders trust & empower everyone at your level?
Does your firm recognize and reward positive selfcare ?
Can you channel your Negative Emotionality for positive, productive results?
How do you express your jealousy?
Have you embraced your ignorance sufficiently this week?
Does your firm consistently refocus resources on the most valuable opportunities ?
Luck or hard work?
Are you remembered for the rules you have broken or the transgressions you have called out?
Do your High Performers keep themselves happy?
How do you know when your Internal Customers needs have changed?
Which do you value more in your team: finding problems or solving problems ?
Are you too nice to Negotiate ?
Does it say the name of your silo on your payslip?
How does your HR department measure its own effectiveness?
If you grow up in a world of constant Distraction what Strengths may you have to offer an Employer?
Past Present or Future - where is your leadership Focus?
Is your Personal Brand Signal or Noise ?
Are you an agile manager? Who notices?
Is your leadership climbing a new mountain or building a new lighthouse each day?
How do you sharpen your strategic competencies?
How do you get served in a bar, and what does that teach you about Leadership ?
What were your summer goals? Did you fulfill them?
What does your relationship with money tell you about your attitude to life ?
Does the Situation make the Leader, or the Leader make the Situation ?
Andrew Jones is an Executive Coach and Career Counselor. Please contact Andrew directly to learn more about this topic or subscribe below to hear more from Andrew in the future.