Experience, Power, and Self-Awareness for Leaders

Name: Experience, Power, and Self-Awareness for Leaders
Author: KnowledgeCity

Learn how to use self-awareness to overcome negative aspects of leadership

Preview the first lesson free — get full access to all 5 lessons.

Course: On-Demand

(relaxing music) Welcome to Experience, Power and Self-Awareness For Leaders. In this course, we'll be learning about experience, power and leadership, as well as how each interacts with the other in the workplace. Let's start with experience and false confidence and the associated pitfalls. When we think of the term experience, we may associate it with positive qualities and consider it essential for good workplace performance. While experience is certainly invaluable, people who possess it don't always perform well. The reality is that experience may not actually be a cure for our leadership woes. For example, experience, isn't always instructive. Many individuals simply don't learn from their mistakes or gain useful information from their experiences. For people to learn from their experience, they can consciously try to be more open to new ideas and be willing to admit fault when necessary. Another pitfall of experience is that those who are highly experienced may also have a level of confidence that doesn't align with their actual skills. Leaders who have a false sense of confidence often think that their decisions are always the right ones. Their actions will always lead to favorable outcomes. They have more control over their subordinates than they really do. They don't need adequate preparation and planning, or that they're simply better than their peers and subordinates, even in areas outside of their expertise. Overconfident leaders may also have an over-inflated view of their performance. In fact, some research indicates that managers who are more experienced are worse at judging their effectiveness as leaders compared to those with less experience. False confidence can also bring the related beliefs of over placement, overestimation and over-precision. Falsely confident leaders may often over place themselves. They misjudge their capabilities as being greater than what they really are and have biases toward themselves when comparing their abilities with those of others. Leaders who overestimate themselves also think that they have more control than they really do or have a higher likelihood of succeeding in some venture than is realistic. Overconfident leaders tend to exhibit over precision. This means they think they know more than they do. Good leaders will take nothing for granted and instead, actively search for information that may even go against their previously held notions, especially through seeking constructive criticism and feedback from others. If necessary, they will make efforts to be humble and more willing to accept help. They may also try to be open-minded enough to accept their own mistakes in alternative ways of thinking or doing things.

Advanced Provider : KnowledgeCity 5 Lessons · 17m in Arabic, German, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Urdu, Chinese

Course Description

When we think of experience, we may associate it with positive qualities and consider it essential for good workplace performance. While experience is certainly invaluable, people who possess it don’t always perform well. The reality is that experience may not actually be a cure-all for our leadership woes. Unfortunately, this way of thinking can cause a false sense of confidence. In a similar way, leaders who hold a lot of power may be more likely to have an overinflated sense of their abilities and qualities. Leaders can avoid these overestimations by cultivating a strong sense of self-awareness.

In this course on Experience, Power, and Self-Awareness for Leaders, you will learn about the dangers of false confidence that can come with experience as a leader. You’ll also learn how power can cause an over-estimation of abilities. Once you understand these concepts, this course explores introspection, objectivity, and questions you can ask to overcome a lack of self-awareness. Goleman’s Domains of Leadership and how they can affect you will also be discussed.

What You'll Learn

Identify false confidence that can come from leadership experience
Recognize how power can lead to overestimating your abilities
Cultivate self-awareness through introspection and objectivity
Apply the practice of asking 'what' instead of 'why' to build self-awareness
Explain Goleman's Domains of Leadership and the concept of emotional intelligence
Understand the benefits of self-awareness for leaders

Key Takeaways

Experience, while invaluable, does not always guarantee good performance and can create a false sense of confidence.
Leaders who hold a lot of power may be more likely to have an overinflated sense of their abilities and qualities.
Cultivating a strong sense of self-awareness helps leaders avoid overestimating their abilities and qualities.
Introspection, objectivity, and asking the right questions are ways to overcome a lack of self-awareness.
Goleman's Domains of Leadership relate to emotional intelligence and how it can affect a leader.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is this course for?

This course is designed for leaders who want to understand the dangers of false confidence from experience, recognize how power can cause overestimation of abilities, and cultivate self-awareness.

What topics does this course cover?

It covers experience and false confidence, power and overestimating abilities, introspection and objectivity (asking 'what' not 'why'), and Goleman's Domains of Leadership including the concept of emotional intelligence.

What will I learn about overcoming a lack of self-awareness?

The course explores introspection, objectivity, and questions you can ask to overcome a lack of self-awareness, along with the benefits of self-awareness.

Is there a way to check my understanding?

Yes, the course includes a 'Test Your Knowledge' lesson to check what you have learned.