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Insight : why we're not as self-aware as we think, and how seeing ourselves clearly helps us succeed at work and in life / Tasha Eurich

By: Material type: TextTextPublication details: New York : Crown Business, [2017]Description: x, 357 pages ; 25 cmISBN:
  • 9780451496812
  • 0451496817
Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • 158.3 EUR
Summary: The first definitive book on the science of self-awareness, Insight is a fascinating journey into everyone\'s favorite topic: themselves. Do you understand who you really are? Or how others really see you? We all know people with a stunning lack of self-awareness--but how often do we consider whether we might have the same problem? Research shows that self-awareness is the meta-skill of the 21st century--the foundation for high performance, smart choices, and lasting relationships. Unfortunately, we are remarkably poor judges of ourselves and how we come across, and it\'s rare to get candid, objective feedback from colleagues, employees, and even friends and family. Integrating hundreds of studies with her own research and work in the Fortune 500 world, organizational psychologist Tasha Eurich shatters conventional assumptions about what it takes to truly know ourselves--like why introspection isn\'t a bullet train to insight, how experience is the enemy of self-knowledge, and just how far others will go to avoid telling us the truth about ourselves. Through stories of people who\'ve made dramatic gains in self-awareness, she offers surprising secrets, techniques and strategies to help readers do the same - and therefore improve their work performance, career satisfaction, leadership potential, relationships, and more -- provided by publisher.
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Item type Current library Call number Status Date due Barcode
Standard Loan Clonmel Library Main Collection 158.3 EUR (Browse shelf(Opens below)) Available 39002100630889

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Learn how to develop self-awareness and use it to become more fulfilled, confident, and successful.

Most people feel like they know themselves pretty well. But what if you could know yourself just a little bit better--and with this small improvement, get a big payoff...not just in your career, but in your life?

Research shows that self-awareness--knowing who we are and how others see us--is the foundation for high performance, smart choices, and lasting relationships. There's just one problem: most people don't see themselves quite as clearly as they could.

Fortunately, reveals organizational psychologist Tasha Eurich, self-awareness is a surprisingly developable skill. Integrating hundreds of studies with her own research and work in the Fortune 500 world, she shows us what it really takes to better understand ourselves on the inside-- and how to get others to tell us the honest truth about how we come across.

Through stories of people who have made dramatic gains in self-awareness, she offers surprising secrets, techniques and strategies to help you do the same--and how to use this insight to be more fulfilled, confident, and successful in life and in work.

In Insight , you'll learn:

* The 7 types of self-knowledge that self-aware people possess.
* The 2 biggest invisible roadblocks to self-awareness.
* Why approaches like therapy and journaling don't always lead to true insight
* How to stop your confidence-killing habits and learn to love who you are.
* How to benefit from mindfulness without uttering a single mantra.
* Why other people don't tell you the truth about yourself--and how to find out what they really think.
* How to deepen your insight into your passions, gifts, and the blind spots that could be holding you back.
* How to hear critical feedback without losing your mojo.
* Why the people with the most power can often be the least-self-aware, and how smart leaders avoid this trap.
* The 3 building blocks for self-aware teams.
* How to deal with delusional bosses, clients, and coworkers.

Includes bibliographical references (pages [309]-344) and index.

The first definitive book on the science of self-awareness, Insight is a fascinating journey into everyone\'s favorite topic: themselves. Do you understand who you really are? Or how others really see you? We all know people with a stunning lack of self-awareness--but how often do we consider whether we might have the same problem? Research shows that self-awareness is the meta-skill of the 21st century--the foundation for high performance, smart choices, and lasting relationships. Unfortunately, we are remarkably poor judges of ourselves and how we come across, and it\'s rare to get candid, objective feedback from colleagues, employees, and even friends and family. Integrating hundreds of studies with her own research and work in the Fortune 500 world, organizational psychologist Tasha Eurich shatters conventional assumptions about what it takes to truly know ourselves--like why introspection isn\'t a bullet train to insight, how experience is the enemy of self-knowledge, and just how far others will go to avoid telling us the truth about ourselves. Through stories of people who\'ve made dramatic gains in self-awareness, she offers surprising secrets, techniques and strategies to help readers do the same - and therefore improve their work performance, career satisfaction, leadership potential, relationships, and more -- provided by publisher.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

  • 1 The Meta-Skill of the Twenty-First Century (p. 1)
  • Part 1 Roadblocks and Building Blocks
  • 2 The Anatomy of Self-Awareness: The Seven Pillars of Insight (p. 21)
  • 3 Blindspots: The Invisible Inner Roadblocks to Insight (p. 48)
  • 4 The Cult of Self: The Sinister Societal Roadblock to Insight (p. 71)
  • Part 2 Internal Self-Awareness-Myths and Truths
  • 5 Thinking Isn't Knowing: The Four Follies of Introspection (p. 97)
  • 6 Internal Self-Awareness Tools That Really Work (p. 127)
  • Part 3 External Self-Awareness-Myths and Truths
  • 7 The Truth We Rarely Hear: From Mirror to Prism (p. 157)
  • 8 Receiving, Reflecting on, and Responding to Difficult or Surprising Feedback (p. 191)
  • Part 4 The Bigger Picture
  • 9 How Leaders Build Self-Aware Teams and Organizations (p. 213)
  • 10 Surviving and Thriving in a Delusional World (p. 254)
  • Appendices (p. 287)
  • Acknowledgments (p. 307)
  • Notes (p. 309)
  • Index (p. 345)

Excerpt provided by Syndetics

1 The Meta-­Skill of the Twenty-­First Century The men burst in with urgent news to report. A party of 35 enemy scouts had been spotted roughly seven miles away, camped out in a rocky ravine. What would the young lieutenant colonel decide to do? The pressure was on, and he knew it. After all, this was a time of war, and he alone was responsible for the 159 recruits he'd led into the field. Despite the fact that the colonel was a 22-­year-­old rookie with zero combat experience, he'd somehow found himself second in command of an entire army. Not only did he have to act quickly and decisively, he needed to prove himself to everyone who was watching. This would be a crucial test of his military prowess, but he had no doubt he would ace it. The supremely self-­assured young man was just itching to show his superiors what he was made of. Those men in the ravine? They were clearly planning to attack, he confidently (and, as it turned out, inaccurately) concluded. So the colonel ordered a sneak assault. In the early hours of May 28, his troops descended on the unsuspecting party, who didn't stand a chance. In less than 15 minutes, 13 enemy soldiers were dead and 21 were ­captured. Brimming with pride over his victory, the colonel returned to camp and began firing off letters. The first was to his commander. But before even recounting news of the battle, the emboldened leader took the opportunity--­in the form of an eight-­paragraph diatribe--­to grouse about his pay. His next letter was to his younger brother, to whom he nonchalantly bragged about his fearlessness in the face of enemy attack: "I can with truth assure you," he wrote, "I heard the bullets whistle and believe me there was something charming in the sound." His self-­congratulatory correspondences completed, it was time to plan his next move. Convinced that the enemy was about to launch a revenge attack, he realized he would need to find a better location for their camp. After crossing a nearby mountain range, the colonel and his men found themselves in a large, low-­lying alpine meadow. The grassland was surrounded on all sides by rolling hills dotted with bushes and a dense pine forest. Surveying the area, the colonel declared it the perfect defensive location and ordered his troops to begin preparations. A few days later, he looked on proudly as his men put the finishing touches on their circular stockade, which consisted of scores of upright seven-­foot logs draped with animal skins. And because it could hold only 70 men at once, he'd ordered them to dig a three-­foot trench for everyone else to crouch in. The colonel thought it was marvelous, assuring his commander that "we have with nature's assistance made a good entrenchment and by clearing the bushes out of these meadows prepared a charming field for an encounter." He knew they'd be outmanned, but "even with my small numbers," he reported, "I shall not fear the attack of 500 men." Unfortunately, not everyone agreed with the confident young leader. One of his many questionable decisions was the placement of the fort. Because it was built on such soft ground, a light shower of rain would turn the meadow into a swamp, and a downpour would flood the trenches and drench their ammunition. What's more, they were so close to the woods--­just 60 yards away--­that enemy marksmen could sneak up undetected and effortlessly fire on their fortress at close range. As for the fort itself, the colonel's allied commander--­a seasoned battle veteran--­insisted that "that little thing upon the meadow" simply would not hold. Undeterred and convinced that he knew best, the colonel dismissed these arguments out of hand, furiously proclaiming the commander and his army to be "treacherous devils" and "spies." A minor rebellion followed, with the allied commander and his followers fleeing in fear (incidentally, this fear turned out to be extremely well founded). In the battle that was to come, the colonel wouldn't find the bullets whistling past him to be quite as charming. And that battle would be momentous. So momentous that the colonel's mistakes would change the course of history. In the years since, historians have attempted to explain how the operation went so tragically wrong. Many have appropriately criticized the colonel for "advancing when he should have retreated; for fighting without awaiting sufficient reinforcements; for picking an indefensible spot; for the slapdash construction of the fort; for alienating his . . . allies; and for shocking hubris in thinking that he could defeat the imposing [enemy] force." But the colonel's downfall can't be attributed simply to tactical errors, flawed maneuvers, or the lost trust of his men. Examining them alone overlooks their root cause: at the most basic level, the colonel lacked the single most important, and yet least examined, determinant of success or failure--­whether on the battlefield, in the workplace, or anywhere else. That quality is self-­awareness. While a precise definition is more complex than it first seems, self-­awareness is, at its core, the ability to see ourselves clearly--­to understand who we are, how others see us, and how we fit into the world around us. And since Plato instructed us to "know thyself," philosophers and scientists alike have extolled the virtues of self-­awareness. Indeed, this ability is arguably one of the most remarkable aspects of being human. In his book The Telltale Brain, neuroscientist V. S. Ramachandran poetically explains: Any ape can reach for a banana, but only humans can reach for the stars. Apes live, contend, breed and die in forests--­end of story. Humans write, investigate, and quest. We splice genes, split atoms, launch rockets. We peer upward . . . and delve deeply into the digits of pi. Perhaps most remarkably of all, we gaze inward, piecing together the puzzle of our own unique and marvelous brain . . . This, truly, is the greatest mystery of all." Some have even argued that the ability to understand ourselves is at the core of human survival and advancement. For millions of years, the ancestors of Homo sapiens evolved almost painfully slowly. But, as Ramachandran explains, about 150,000 years ago, there was a rather explosive development in the human brain--­where, among other things, we gained the ability to examine our own thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, as well as to see things from others' points of view (as we will learn, both of these processes are absolutely critical for self-­awareness). Not only did this create the foundation for higher forms of human expression--­like art, spiritual practices, and language--­it came with a survival advantage for our ancestors, who had to work together to stay alive. Being able to evaluate their behaviors and decisions and read their impact on other members of the tribe helped them, to use a slightly more modern reference, not to get voted off the island. Flash forward to the twenty-­first century. Though we may not face the same day-­to-­day threats to our existence as our ancestors did, self-­awareness is no less necessary to our survival and success--­at work, in our relationships, and in life. There is strong scientific evidence that people who know themselves and how others see them are happier. They make smarter decisions. They have better personal and professional relationships. They raise more mature children. They're smarter, superior students who choose better careers. They're more creative, more confident, and better communicators. They're less aggressive and less likely to lie, cheat, and steal. They're better performers at work who get more promotions. They're more effective leaders with more enthusiastic employees. They even lead more profitable companies. On the flip side, a lack of self-­awareness can be risky at best and disastrous at worst. In business, regardless of what we do or what stage we're at in our careers, our success depends on understanding who we are and how we come across to our bosses, clients, customers, employees, and peers. This becomes even more important the higher you ascend on the corporate ladder: senior executives who lack self-­awareness are 600 percent more likely to derail (which can cost companies a staggering $50 million per executive). And more generally, un-­self-­aware professionals don't just feel less fulfilled in their careers--­when they get stuck, they tend to have trouble figuring out what their next phase should even be. The list goes on and on. After so many years of researching the subject, I would go so far as to say that self-­awareness is the meta-­skill of the twenty-­first century. As you'll read in the pages ahead, the qualities most critical for business and leadership success today--­things like emotional intelligence, empathy, influence, persuasion, communication, and collaboration--­all stem from self-­awareness. To put it another way, if we're not self-­aware, it's almost impossible to master the skills that make us stronger team players, superior leaders, and better relationship builders--­at work and beyond. Now, you'd certainly be hard pressed to find many people who don't instinctively know that self-­awareness is important. After all, it's a term we tend to toss around freely--­about our boss, our colleagues, our in-­laws, our politicians--­although have you noticed that when we do, it's usually in the negative, as in "so-­and-­so just isn't self-­aware?" But in today's world, despite the critical role it plays in our success and happiness, self-­awareness is a remarkably rare quality. For most people, it's easier to choose self-­delusion--­the antithesis of self-­awareness--­over the cold, hard truth. This is particularly true when our delusion masquerades, as it often does, as insight. The colonel is one example. Let's look at a more modern manifestation. I recently picked up Travis Bradberry's best-­selling book Emotional Intelligence 2.0, and I was astonished to learn that over the last decade, our collective emotional intelligence (EQ) has improved. (EQ is defined as the ability to detect, understand, and manage emotions in ourselves and others, and countless studies have shown that people who have it are more successful, more resilient in the face of obstacles, more tolerant of stress, better at building relationships, and more.) But in my work as an organizational psychologist, Bradberry's findings didn't match what I had observed: at least anecdotally, I've seen low EQ becoming more, not less, of a problem in recent years. It wasn't until I took the online assessment that came with the book that I identified the stunning source of the discrepancy. While, yes, Bradberry's research involved a staggering 500,000 people, his conclusions were based on their own self-­assessments. Think about that for a minute. Picture a few of the least emotionally intelligent people you know. If you asked them to evaluate their own EQ, how much would you bet that they'd see themselves as at least above average? So an alternative, and far more likely, explanation for Bradbury's findings is a growing gap between how we see ourselves and what we really are. In other words, what looked like an increase in EQ was more likely a decrease in self-­awareness. Our increasingly "me"-­focused society makes it even easier to fall into this trap. Recent generations have grown up in a world obsessed with self-­esteem, constantly being reminded of their wonderful and special qualities. It's far more tempting to see ourselves through rose-­colored glasses than to objectively examine who we are and how we're seen. And this isn't just a generational problem, or even just an American one--­it afflicts people of all ages, genders, backgrounds, cultures, and creeds. Right now, you might be mentally conjuring all the delusional people you know and chuckling--­the co-­worker who thinks he's a brilliant presenter but puts everyone to sleep in meetings; the boss who brags about being approachable but terrifies her team; the friend who thinks she's a "people person" but is always the most awkward guest at the party. Yet there's something else we all need to consider. As the Bible asks, "How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?" (Matthew 7:4). Whether it's at work, at home, at school, or at play, we're quick to accuse others of being unaware, but we rarely (if ever) ask ourselves whether we have the same problem. Case in point: in a survey that I conducted among potential readers of this very book, a full 95 percent reported that they were either somewhat or very self-­aware! The truth is that while most of us think we know ourselves pretty well, this confidence is often unfounded. Researchers have established that our self-­assessments "are often flawed in substantive and systematic ways." As you'll read more about soon, studies show that we tend to be terrible judges of our own performance and abilities--­from our leadership skills to our car-­driving prowess to our performance at school and at work. The scariest part? The least competent people are usually the most confident in their abilities. And in most cases, the planks in our eyes are pretty obvious to everyone but us. A tone-­deaf college student who drops out of school to become a singer. A braggadocios boss who reads scores of business books but remains a terrible leader. A parent who spends very little time with his kids but thinks he's "Dad of the Year." A thrice-­divorced woman who's convinced that the end of each marriage was her ex's fault. Or a colonel who thinks he's a military genius but is really about to get in way over his head. But being overconfident about our abilities isn't the only way that low self-­awareness can play out. Sometimes we lack clarity about our values and goals, causing us to perpetually make choices that aren't in our best interests. Other times, we fail to grasp the impact we're having on the people around us, alienating our colleagues, friends, and families without even knowing it. Excerpted from Insight: The Power of Self-Awareness to Succeed in an Increasingly Delusional World by Tasha Eurich All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Tasha Eurich is a workplace psychologist, speaker, author, and principal of The Eurich Group. She helps organizations succeed by improving the effectiveness of their leaders and teams. She works with executives in Fortune 500 organizations and serves on the faculty of the Center for Creative Leadership. Her articles have appeared in several magazines and journals including Chief Learning Officer Magazine, The Journal of Business Psychology, and The Work Style Magazine. Her first book, Bankable Leadership: Happy People, Bottom-Line Results, and the Power to Deliver Both, was published in 2013.

(Bowker Author Biography)

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