A must-have knowledge: Know thyself

July 2, 2024

A guest post from Wake Forest’s Professional Development Center (PDC)

Imagine a family member or close friend seeking advice asking you, “What type of knowledge do you need to be successful at work and in life?”

What would you say?

I bet one of the top answers would be, “know thyself.” As detailed by organizational psychologist Tasha Eurich, self-awareness is linked to so many positive outcomes in our professional and nonwork life: confidence and creativity, better relationships, better communication, work performance, leader promotability, and effective leaders with satisfied employees.

When we are self-aware:

• We understand ourselves, our values, our feelings, and have a clear sense of who we are in the world and how we impact others.
• We recognize how others see us in those same ways.
• We have an accurate picture of our strengths and our weaknesses, and we are willing to improve. Notably, research my colleagues and I conducted revealed that this is tied specifically to college and university administrators being less likely to show signs of derailment (i.e., burnout, career plateauing, or failing in their careers).

The great thing about self-awareness is that any of us can increase and enhance our self-awareness, which can help us in many other important ways. But we must take the time to do it. Here are some examples:

• Understand yourself so you can be more resilient – sign up for ResilientWake, a 3-part series led by Ashley Hawkins Parham where you can learn how to develop and integrate resilience skills into your everyday life. The ability to effectively bounce back, manage, adjust, and react to challenge and change is what resiliency is all about. Self-awareness includes identifying patterns of thoughts, feelings and behaviors. We are more resilient when we aren’t driven by automatic patterns but when we intentionally respond to the challenge and change we inevitably face.
• Build our toolkit for greater self-awareness – sign up for Introduction to the Enneagram, a class led by Liz Orr. There are many personality assessments that can help you recognize strengths and challenges, and how we show up at our best and in moments of great stress. The Enneagram, according to Liz’s book, can help us understand ourselves, observe ourselves more in real-time, and be more compassionate with ourselves and others.
• Be aware of your values – sign up for Understanding Your Values as a Professional and Leader – In-Person or Live Online. When we know our values, we feel more confident. Values center us in our work, in setting goals, and in making decisions. You could also take these Workday Learning on-demand courses on Leading with Values or Values Alignment.
• Ask your supervisor and others you trust to provide feedback on your strengths and weaknesses. It’s one thing to think you know your strengths and weaknesses. Feedback can help reveal possible blind spots or hidden strengths.

Take the time to “know thyself” and reach out to us in the Professional Development Center to help you on your journey.

Continue your professional development with the PDC:
Visit us online at pdc.wfu.edu
Register for our classes through Workday Learning
Follow the PDC on Instagram @wfutalent

Or, contact our professional staff:
William (Bill) Gentry (gentrywa@wfu.edu)
Director of the PDC and Learning & Development
Missy Campbell (campbem@wfu.edu)
Manager, Learning & Development
Melissa Clodfelter (clodfem@wfu.edu)
Assistant Vice President, Faculty & Staff Experience