04/18/2024

Working with People Who Aren’t Self-aware

Only 10 to 15 percent of people actually are self-aware

Even though self-awareness — knowing who we are and how we're seen — is important for job performance, career success and leadership effectiveness, it is in remarkably short supply in today's workplace. In our nearly five-year research program on the subject, we've discovered that although 95 percent of people think they’re self-aware, only 10 to 15 percent actually are.

At the office, we don't have to look far to find unaware colleagues — people who, despite past successes, solid qualifications or irrefutable intelligence, display a complete lack of insight into how they are perceived. In a survey we conducted with 467 working adults in the U.S. across several industries, 99 percent reported working with at least one such person, and nearly half worked with at least four. Peers were the most frequent offenders (with 73 percent of respondents reporting at least one unaware peer), followed by direct reports (33 percent), bosses (32 percent) and clients (16 percent).

Un-self-aware colleagues aren't just frustrating; they can cut a team's chances of success in half. According to our research, other consequences of working with unaware colleagues include increased stress, decreased motivation and a greater likelihood of leaving one's job.

Please select this link to read the complete article from Harvard Business Review.