English author and philosopher Francis Bacon, an advocate of inductive reasoning in science, wrote, “Knowledge is power” in 1597. This phrase has come up with many of my clients recently in a new form: self-knowledge is power.
Increase Your Awareness
One of the first steps in coaching is creating awareness of strengths, motivators and stress behaviors, typically through a personality assessment and confidential feedback from colleagues. The challenge then becomes what to do with that information. I often tell my clients, “You don’t have to agree with all of the feedback but you can choose what to do with it.”
Knowing …
- your strengths gives you the power to resist buying into destructive comments from an undermining co-worker.
- what motivates you gives you the power to pursue a role that makes you look forward to work every day.
- what triggers your stress behaviors gives you the power to stay calm and in control when your brain wants you to do the opposite.
What do you need to know in order to be your most powerful self?