Someone criticises your work. What do you do? Its likely you'll want to blame something or someone to protect your image and reputation.

This image management is common, and one of the ways we react unless we've done work on our vertical development - our self-awareness.

Upskilling was the buzz word during the pandemic. When we talk of **upskilling** its likely were talking about **horizontal** growth.

Horizontal growth is learning and developing new skills \(such as video conferencing\) or getting better at something \(such as using team communication software\).

**Vertical** growth, on the other hand, is seeing downward into our **unconscious patterns of thought** and behaviour  and learning to deal with them  so we can grow upward towards our values and ideals.

Horizontal versus vertical growth

Michael Bunting, author of [Vertical Growth](https://www.booktopia.com.au/vertical-growth-michael-bunting/book/9780730395515.html?source=pla&gclid=CjwKCAiA3pugBhAwEiwAWFzwdZWqdrpLKwF2BOo4H7WG1gMrwMjQypM6PVsUbdN4u6u7RZxa_ZtuRhoC-6wQAvD_BwE), says that behind the gloss of image management, leaders can actually suffer tremendously. Leaders will admit they need validation to deal with deep insecurities.

As Anna Fillipsen, head of People and Organisation for the Asia region of Novartis pharmaceutical company told Michael in _Vertical Growth_ :

_That's the real problem with inauthenticity. It's not productive. We put all our energy into image management, rather than impact. It's about us looking good, rather than doing good._

Why vertical growth is important

Michael Bunting says vertical growth can be developed through self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-examination.

Michael says it is critical that we live from the self-examining mind and become very clear on who we are, what we stand for, and the core values that govern our behaviour and decisions.

When were clear on our own values and we shape our life around them, we feel more alive and engaged in life in general.

How can we get better at self-awareness?

A 30-year study by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner into the characteristics of admired leaders showed that four qualities stand out from the rest, the highest being **honesty** , followed by **inspiring, competent,** and **forward-looking.**

Michael Bunting says honesty refers to being honest both with ourselves and others. It is a key part of vertical growth.

_We don't often give honest feedback because were afraid of ruining relationships or disengaging people._ (Here is that image management again)

_If we want people to feel psychologically safe with us, honest, sometimes uncomfortable, constructive feedback is part of the deal._

Michael shares that his own vertical growth has come from working on two values kindness and honesty.

They counterbalance each other beautifully, he says.

_When I'm practising honesty without kindness, it can get a bit brutal and unfair at times. Equally, kindness without honesty can turn very quickly into neediness and faking._

Honesty is part of vertical growth

Michael says clarity around our growth values is critical to living a **self-examined** life.

Effective, mindful leaders are deliberately developmental he told us in this week's book club interview.

We learned this means:

Declaring the **talk you're trying to walk**. These are 2-3 values you live and work by.

Defining what your **behaviour promise** or code to your team is. If your values are honesty and kindness, what promise do you make to them? (Example: I promise I will never let you go home not knowing where you stand.)

He says if you struggle with anger and impatience, you may choose **patience and kindness** as growth values. If you constantly avoid conflict, you might choose **courage and honesty** as your growth values.

Your behaviour promise is the **lived behaviours** that give authenticity to you "walking the talk" of these values.

Choosing your growth values

It can be difficult and clumsy at first, but it is important to push for the growth zone.

This is a patch of **discomfort** between your comfort zone and your terror zone.

One of Michael's business clients Isabel avoided difficult conversations. When she tried to give her direct reports clear and direct feedback, it felt very uncomfortable.

_"When I hear my own voice, I sound like a monster. My head is telling me that my feedback is harsh, blunt, and aggressive,"_ she told Michael in _Vertical Growth_.

However, the people around Isabel preferred her new directness.

Michael says you will often feel like you're going too far when you're actually being quite mild.

Going for the growth zone

4 steps to taking action on self-awareness

Identify one big thing to work on for your journey to self-awareness and vertical growth. It needs to be one thing you want to change in your behaviour that will help you live your values and aspirations more consistently.

Michael's tip: It's probably the last thing you want to do, the thing you resist the most.

Step 1: One Big Thing

Ask yourself _Are there any other steps I need to consider to help me succeed?_ If you have chosen your one big thing as **Become more effective at holding team members accountable** you may want to read books and attend seminars on improving your communication skills.

See the [summary of Growth Faculty's masterclass](https://www.thegrowthfaculty.com/blog/radicalcandorgivingfeedback) on Radical Candor with Amy Sandler.

Step 2: Identify additional skills you will need

When you hold yourself accountable you create healthy pressure for change. Methods can include involving other people \(such as your team members\) to help you.

Step 3: Hold yourself accountable

Set up support structures to help you succeed. These could include rituals, involving other people, and seeking out educational opportunities.

For example, Michael suggests that if your one big thing (OBT) is **Be calm under pressure** you may want to start a daily ritual of 10 to 20 minutes of meditation.

Step 4: Create support structures

Once you've discovered the values that you want to move towards you need to cultivate the self-awareness and self-regulation to help you get there.

**Mindfulness** is like a door to that self-awareness.

Through meditation and mindfulness we:

*   Become more aware of the habitual reactions that hold us back
*   Expand the gap between stimulus and response
*   Make wiser choices

Developing self-awareness

Through mindfulness we can mindfully **feel and accept** the emotional discomfort in our body when we do a behaviour that we might prefer to avoid.

As psychologist Susan David, author of [_Emotional Agility_](https://www.thegrowthfaculty.com/blog/leadersEQsusandavid), says, Emotions are data, they are not directives. Our emotions contain flashing lights to things that we care about.

Michael Bunting says mindfulness can **slow our reactions** while accepting our emotions.

_Then, we can dig beneath the surface to discover the source of our feelings and gain a deeper understanding of ourselves._

Why mindfulness helps

If you were to practice self-awareness right now, what would you do?

This question stumps most people, says Michael Bunting. He says mindfulness training is about becoming **continuously attentive** and aware of our experience.

_To be self-aware means directing trained attention to what is going on inside us._

How to practice self-awareness

Without mindfulness, Michael says, its impossible to develop enough self-awareness to reliably transform our behaviour.

Here are **four aspects** or realms of the self of which we can be aware:

*   Mindfulness of the **body/senses**
*   Mindfulness of the **feeling tone**. (i.e. pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral feeling tones)
*   Mindfulness of **thoughts**
*   Mindfulness of the **way we make meaning**. (i.e. all the unconscious conditioning that feed into our fundamental assumptions)

Once we become mindful of these four foundations, we are no longer possessed by them or pushed around helplessly by them, says Michael.

The 4 foundations of mindfulness

*   What value/s if practised would help me to grow and become more balanced and wise?
*   Who do I know that I admire and what specific qualities or values in them do I admire?
*   What value do I secretly wish I was better at?
*   What value that is important to me do I find the most challenging to master?

Questions to consider:

Vertical growth requires development in areas such as empathy, self-awareness, inclusivity, psychological safety, trust, team-building, communication, unlearning, and adaptability.

These skills and more are among core topics included in our Growth Faculty membership. 

## Growth Faculty membership

[Growth Faculty members](https://thegrowthfaculty.com/memberships/?campaign_id=701RG000006BNNhYAO&promo=BlogGF) have an opportunity on July 31 to join an interactive discussion with **Will Guidara** on his new book _"Unreasonable Hospitality."_

It's part of Growth Faculty's [immersive live virtual learning program](https://thegrowthfaculty.com/); an engaging and entertaining way to develop leaders.

Growth Faculty recently launched a good value [Enterprise plan](https://thegrowthfaculty.com/#plans) for **larger companies** to develop leadership skills in teams of 20 or more employees.

For **higher level leaders,** including CEOs, there is an in-person [Good to Great® Immersion Workshop with Jim Collins](https://thegrowthfaculty.com/events/a02RG000002EGYsYAO/overview/?campaign_id=701RG00000ALpCMYA1&promo=Blog&type=Affiliate) in Chicago, U.S., in October 2024. This is exclusively for executive teams and numbers are limited.

Photo by [Eunice Lituaas](https://unsplash.com/@euniveeerse?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText) on [Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/photos/bpxgyD4YYt4?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText)

Self-awareness: Why it is Critical For Great Leadership

Michael Bunting's book Vertical Growth helps leaders become more authentic

Keep informed
Stay Inspired

Self-awareness: Why it is Critical For Great Leadership

Michael Bunting's book Vertical Growth helps leaders become more authentic

Keep informedStay Inspired

Keep informed
Stay Inspired