All Episodes

January 29, 2026 16 mins

We're so busy watching everyone else—scrolling feeds, comparing ourselves to other leaders, checking what the competition is doing—that we've become incredibly others-aware and dangerously self-unaware.

Self-awareness isn't a buzzword. It's the difference between walking into a meeting grounded or bringing your frustration, anxiety, and chaos with you—and watching it cascade to everyone around you.

Here's the truth: as goes the leader, so goes the team. Your mood changes rooms. Your anxiety creates anxiety. Your groundedness brings clarity.

In this episode, we're diving into the third sphere of leadership that most people ignore: how your emotions, your wiring, and your weaknesses are impacting the people you lead. Whether you realize it or not.

Since Daniel Goleman published his work on emotional intelligence, self-awareness has been everywhere. It's in every leadership book, every conference, every corporate training. But here's the irony: we're at an all-time high for talking about self-awareness and an all-time low for actually practicing it.

Why? Because we're too busy being others-aware. Always looking at what everyone else is doing. Always comparing. Always feeling behind.

This episode cuts through the noise and gives you three practical aspects of self-awareness that will change how you lead:

What You'll Learn:

  • Why being "others-aware" is making you dangerously self-unaware—and how to fix it
  • Social contagion: the psychological reality that your mood spreads to your team whether you want it to or not
  • The space between stimulus and response—and why mastering this one thing prevents unnecessary blowups
  • How to identify your emotional triggers before they derail your day (and a real story of how this saved a family evening)
  • Why context determines the course: how your energy and encouragement levels shape every conversation
  • Your assets vs. your liabilities: understanding what work energizes you and what work drains you
  • Patrick Lencioni's Working Genius framework and why it's a game-changer for understanding your wiring
  • The six types: geniuses, frustrations, and competencies—and how to identify yours
  • Why it's not the amount of work burning you out, it's the type of work (and what to do about it)
  • Drains and fills: how to design your days around what gives you energy
  • Why some leaders love conferences and others absolutely hate them (it's all about wiring)
  • How to build a team that complements your strengths and covers your weaknesses

Key Insight:

Most leaders think they're burned out because they're doing too much work. The reality? You're doing the wrong type of work for your wiring. If you spent eight hours a day doing spreadsheets when you're wired for ideation, you'd be burned out in weeks. If you're wired for details and you're forced to brainstorm all day, same result.

Self-awareness means knowing your drains and your fills—and designing your role around both.

The Three Aspects of Self-Awareness:

  1. Emotions -
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

Hey Jonas!

Hey Jonas!

Hey Jonas! The official Jonas Brothers podcast. Hosted by Kevin, Joe, and Nick Jonas. It’s the Jonas Brothers you know... musicians, actors, and well, yes, brothers. Now, they’re sharing another side of themselves in the playful, intimate, and irreverent way only they can. Spend time with the Jonas Brothers here and stay a little bit longer for deep conversations like never before.

Stuff You Should Know

Stuff You Should Know

If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

Dateline NBC

Dateline NBC

Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2026 iHeartMedia, Inc.

  • Help
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • AdChoicesAd Choices