Barriers to Self-Awareness

Unfortunately, lack of self-awareness may be an occupational hazard of managerial work. Long work hours and the fast pace of work make it difficult for managers to take time out for thoughtful self-reflection. Managers routinely face the pressures of tight deadlines, workflow interruptions, unexpected crises, and the threat of being “dejobbed” in an era of downsizing, mergers, and acquisitions. Although the ability to learn new ways of seeing, thinking, and behaving are most valuable during stressful periods, most managers' “ability to learn shuts down precisely at the moment they need it most.”^[5] Indeed, during times of stress, most people fall back on their habitual ways of thinking and acting, even though these ways of thinking and acting probably contributed to their predicament in the first place.

In addition to job pressures, there are many other obstacles to managerial self-awareness. People typically get promoted to managerial positions because of their past achievements. Thus, a “leading reason for resisting attempts at inner-directed change is the fear of losing effectiveness by tampering with a 'winning formula.'”^[6] Also, because of the status differences between managers and subordinates, many managers do not make themselves accessible to the people who work for them. Consequently, they deny themselves the opportunity to receive useful advice and feedback. Furthermore, managers “hire people in their own image” and are thus more likely to receive reinforcement for their decisions and actions rather than useful constructive criticism and resistance from those they hire.^[7]

Managers' busy personal lives also leave little time for self-reflection. Although home life traditionally has been viewed as a retreat from job pressures, many managers today take their work home with them in order to keep up with the escalating work responsibilities. Many managers are also balancing the demanding schedules of dual (or triple) career couples, often while caring for dependent children and aging parents. Indeed, given the multiple pressures of coordinating and care-taking in the home, as well as the lack of immediate feedback (one doesn't know how well one is raising children until the children grow up), many managers find the workplace to be a welcome escape from the emotional and physical demands of home life.^[8] As a colleague recently told me on a Monday morning, “I've had a very busy weekend at home and it's time for a work break.”

Despite these hurdles to managerial self-awareness, many managers make good-faith efforts to increase their self-knowledge. The proliferation of self-help books and professional development videos, audiotapes, and workshops suggest that many managers actively invest their time and money in their quest for self-understanding and personal growth. Steven Covey's book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People is enormously successful. Fortune notes that the managerial coaching business—designed to help managers better understand how their attitudes, thinking patterns, and interpersonal styles affect their well-being and professional effectiveness—is “thriving at American Express, AT&T, Citibank, Colgate, Levi Strauss, Northern Telecom, Procter & Gamble, and many other major companies...Fees range from $1,500 for a single day (which is never enough) to $100,000 or more for a coaching program that lasts several years.”^[9]