Posted by People who love their jobs or make a million dollars aren’t always confident, well-organized, or good at solving problems. Successful people have an edge in the workplace because they have self-awareness.
But many people wrongly think self-awareness is about understanding your feelings and flaws.
To be self-aware, you must consider your skills and determine how they fit your goals. Research shows that becoming more self-aware makes us more creative, helps us make better choices, allows us to communicate better, and helps us build stronger relationships.
This is “the most underrated skill” that successful people use to advance in their jobs.
Here are 3 ways to figure out what your skills are and improve your self-awareness:
1. Think about your interests and talents.
What do you do well? What are your favorite things? These are the two most important things to ask yourself at work, whether starting a new job or feeling burned out.
For instance, do you like to lead a team or look at data?. The answers to these questions will help you determine which tasks you don’t mind repeatedly doing.
Once you know what you’re good at and what kind of job you’d like, you can plan to improve your skills and focus on the projects and tasks that excite you.
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2. Ask your boss and other workers what they think.
Next time you meet with your boss or go out for coffee with a coworker, ask them: “Can you tell me a time when I helped your work, and can you be specific?”
These talks can also help you determine what skills you need to improve. For example, suppose a coworker tells you that your ability to do more than one thing at once saved the day on a big project, and you don’t use this skill very often. In that case, you should work on it more.
Sometimes, you don’t realize your strengths until you see them through someone else’s eyes.
3. Set goals and keep track of how you’re doing.
Once you know which skills you want to improve or use more at work, you should set goals and keep track of your progress. This will help you stay focused and work more efficiently.
It takes a long time to see fundamental changes in self-awareness, but the skill pays off in the long run.
You can have all the technical skills and charisma in the world. Still, suppose you’re entirely unaware of how you come across and interact in the world. In that case, it’s much harder to build strong relationships, talk to your boss and coworkers, and deepen the friendships you need to succeed.
Are you looking to make a career move to upgrade your skills? Find your dream job on Jobstore.com, download our free mobile app today.
Anisa is a writer who focuses on career and lifestyle topics in an effort to motivate both job searchers and employers towards greater fulfillment in their professional lives.
Reach me at anisa@jobstore.com.