Every day as a leader, your calendar is filled with responsibilities you embrace for your team: coaching emerging talent, resolving urgent crises, establishing clear boundaries, and working to build a culture where people thrive. This is a crucial investment in the long-term success of both your people and your clients.
With all of these outward actions, it is all too easy to overlook a fundamental question:
Have you ever paused to consider the version of yourself your team experiences every day?
Here’s something to sit with:
If your team described you in three words, what do you hope they’d say?
Not what they might say—what you want them to say.
That gap? That’s where the work lives as a leader.
This question brings leadership directly into the realm of self-awareness. This is not only a soft skill, but a strategic advantage. Self-awareness equips you to understand your strengths and weaknesses, manage your emotions, and make informed, responsible decisions.
Put simply: when we understand ourselves, we lead more effectively.
Effective leadership demands that we look inward before we reach outward. Self-aware leaders not only recognize how their habits and personality influence those around them but also actively calibrate their approach so their words, expectations, and boundaries create clarity and momentum for their teams. This constant recalibration—between the leader you are and the leader you hope to be—is where sustainable leadership growth happens.
Why invest in building this awareness? Consider the benefits:
- Improved Decision-Making: Self-aware leaders make better decisions and set clearer priorities because they understand their biases and triggers.
- Stronger Relationships & Culture: When we accurately judge our own strengths and weaknesses, our communication becomes more empathetic and honest. This builds trust, which is essential for a thriving, collaborative team environment.
- Resilience & Growth: Feedback becomes an opportunity rather than a threat. Leaders who regularly seek honest feedback are more likely to adapt, learn, and inspire continual improvement in others.
- Better Performance: Studies show that teams led by self-aware leaders perform better and report higher job satisfaction. The ripple effects are measurable: improved employee engagement, stronger retention, and even better business outcomes.
In my own leadership journey, I’ve learned that growth happens on the uncomfortable edge between perception and aspiration. If there’s a gap between how your team actually experiences you and the leader you want to be, that’s not a failing—it’s the field in which leadership is cultivated.
So, ask yourself: What do you want your three words to be?
Now, invite feedback. Listen deeply. The work starts in narrowing that gap, not with perfection, but with presence.
In the end, self-awareness isn’t only about being a better leader—it’s about empowering your team to bring their best, every day. And that’s the version of leadership that drives real, lasting transformation.
If you would like my free “Leadership Self-Awareness Journal” Prompt, reply and let me know. It is a simple tool to help you listen, reflect, and lead with more presence starting now.
Ways to Work Together
If you are feeling trapped in your business and not experiencing the freedom you want, here are the three ways we can work together.
Accelerate is a 3-month mastermind designed to help you break through business roadblocks and create lasting change. For $1500, you’ll get a 1-hour deep dive with Stephanie, weekly mastermind coaching, fast email support, and exclusive access to all German Business Consulting resources. Stop feeling stuck, isolated, or overwhelmed—Accelerate gives you the support and clarity you need to move forward. Set yourself up for success and build a business you love.
Clarity Call: Ready to build a business that gives you true freedom? I create custom solutions tailored to your industry, goals, and vision of success—so you can love your business again. Click above to schedule a call to clarify your goals, tackle roadblocks, and see how we can work together.
Business Roadmap: This is for business owners who want clear, actionable next steps—not another generic course. Get a plan tailored to your business, clarity on what matters, and the resources to move forward. Walk away knowing exactly what to do—and what to ignore—so you can save time, money, and avoid years of frustration.
A fourth way, and I know I only said three, but sometimes I can’t help myself. If you are feeling stuck and are in need of resources, reach out. I am happy to point you in the right direction and even provide an asset of my own to help you move forward.
Stephanie German is a business strategist, adjunct professor, and speaker. She holds a master’s degree in organizational leadership and loves giving back to her community in a variety of ways. When she’s not coaching clients or writing about leadership, Stephanie is usually headed to the mountains or the beach with her family, drinking savory wine, or working on the latest project with her husband. Stephanie’s greatest desires are to raise up the next generation of leaders while raising her own children to be strong, independent, and brave. She lives in Fresno, California with her husband Blake and her three spunky daughters, Cara, Kinsey, and Peyton. She is the best-selling author of So Your Boss Can’t Lead?