Day 1 · Act I — Lead Yourself
Leadership Begins With Self-Awareness
Values · Identity · Johari Window
~25 minutes
You cannot steer a ship whose hull you have never inspected.
The Core Idea
Most leadership failures are not failures of intelligence; they are failures of self-knowledge. Leaders who misread their own patterns misread the room, because their blind spots become the organisation's blind spots.
Self-awareness has two faces: internal (knowing your values, triggers and aspirations) and external (knowing how others actually experience you). Research in organisational psychology suggests the two are only loosely correlated — many confident leaders score high on one and low on the other. Today you begin by naming what you stand for and inviting the outside view in.
The Mental Model
The Johari Window
Four panes: Open (known to you and others), Blind (known to others, not you), Hidden (known to you, not others) and Unknown. Growth comes from shrinking the blind pane through feedback and the hidden pane through disclosure.
At work: A director believes she is 'decisive'. Her team experiences her as 'closing debate too early'. Same behaviour, different window — only feedback reveals it.
The Case Study
Satya Nadella's reset at Microsoft
DocumentedNadella became CEO in 2014 and publicly emphasised a shift from a 'know-it-all' to a 'learn-it-all' culture, a theme he discusses in his book Hit Refresh.
Interpretation: the cultural shift began with a leader modelling self-examination, making it safer for others to admit what they did not know.
Cinema & Story
Good Will Hunting (1997)
Brilliance without self-understanding becomes a cage; breakthrough comes when someone is safe enough to look inward.
The Reading Room
Insight
Tasha Eurich
A research-based guide to internal and external self-awareness, with practical tools for seeking honest feedback.
Further reading: Hit Refresh — Satya Nadella
The Journal · Portfolio output: Leadership values inventory
The Field Experiment · within 24 hours
Ask two colleagues: 'What is one thing I do that helps the team, and one thing that gets in the way?' Listen without defending.
The Evening Review
The first territory a leader conquers is the self.