Ipsa Scientia Potestas Est

(Knowledge is power)

Sir Francis Bacon

The first real mark of becoming an Unstoppable Leader is Self-Awareness. Leadership begins from within, and who you are as a leader comes from who you are at your inner core.

Self-awareness means you understand your inner core. Before you can lead others, you have to recognize your true self. Unfortunately, too many leaders refuse to discover who they truly are before they begin to lead and then struggle when adversity comes their way.

Becoming an Unstoppable Leader requires that you are well grounded in your character and that your core values, beliefs, and worldview are integrated into your leadership.

Self-awareness means you have clarity of your passions, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Without personal clarity it is impossible to have professional clarity and therefore impossible to lead congruently with your inner core.

You need to have a deep understanding of who you really are before you lead. You need to know and understand your strengths, weaknesses, capabilities, abilities, and your emotions. Nothing is more important to your success of becoming an Unstoppable Leader than your self-awareness.

Self-awareness is believing in yourself with conviction and commitment. It is an awareness of your strengths and your challenges. Nosce Te Ipsum is Latin for Know Thyself. The saying is attributed to many Greek and Roman philosophers to include Socrates, Aristotle, Heraclitus, and Cicero.

Self-awareness gives a leader a greater understanding of his or her values, beliefs, and worldview. It provides insight on the how and why they make decisions. Self-awareness is about understanding your self-efficacy, self-leadership, and intentional clarity.

            Knowing yourself improves your self-discipline and self-control in different situations, allowing you to work with others during challenging and demanding problems more skillfully and diplomatically. It allows you to use the right capabilities at the right time and in the right situational context.

Finally, knowing yourself likewise provides you more confidence in developing yourself for the present operations and future challenges.