Abstract
M.Phil.
In the changing world of today, individuals experience a lack of meaning and
direction in their lives. Personal leadership is an approach that enables individuals to
achieve a deeper self-insight and form a more distinct vision of their future. The
objective of this study was to investigate the contribution of self-awareness to
personal leadership.
With a view to gain a better understanding of self-awareness, a word and concept
analysis of self-awareness was conducted in Chapter two by means of dictionary
explanations as well as consulting viewpoints of experts from different perspectives.
The relevant information gleaned from psychology and sociology was categorized to
describe the ontological (essential nature), teleological (purpose), sociological (social
nature) and methodological (methods) dimensions of self-awareness. Based on this
analysis, self-awareness can be described as a psychological state or condition
of attending to one's physical, spiritual, emotional and/or mental qualities by
means of reflection, introspection and/or inner speech. It is thus an on-going
process of seeing things both as they are and as they could be, as well as to
form a perception of what is real.
Furthermore, it was determined that self-awareness provides the key to a person's
being, as it enables one to achieve:
• self-knowledge or a candid assessment of personal strengths, limitations,
needs, abilities, values and beliefs;
• a solid self-concept or an awareness of the dominant thoughts, perceptions and
feelings one has about oneself and thus to alter any unrealistic beliefs;
• self-acceptance or insight into and understanding of oneself, which culminates
in accepting oneself and others;
• self-regulation or an awareness of one's internal states and values enabling one
to manage oneself and to be flexible in adapting to change;
• self-actualization or an awareness of one's unique nature, abilities and purpose
enabling one to fulfil one's needs, realize one's potential and achieve meaning
in life.
In addition, it was also discovered that self-awareness could be achieved and/or
developed through various methods like self-analysis, personality instruments,
meditation, mentoring, and/or facilitation courses.
Chapter three focused on the contribution of self-awareness to personal leadership. It
was indicated that personal leadership is a process in which a person takes control of
his/her own life. By consulting views of various authors on the subject, it was also
established that the underlying foundation of personal leadership is an 'inside-out'
approach, which means to start first with one's own perceptions, character and
motives. As this approach involves a proactive attitude that is character-based and
centred on principles and values, it enables one to achieve personal mastery.
The role of self-awareness in each phase in the process of personal leadership was
investigated. It was found that self-awareness enables the individual to gain
knowledge of his/her different qualities, potential and core values, which is vital for
understanding "Who am I?" in the first phase of personal leadership. Furthermore, it
was also established that an awareness of one's unique nature, abilities and core
values culminates in creating a personal vision, which is crucial to the second phase
of "Where am I going?" in the personal leadership process. The last phase in this
process addresses the question of "How am I going to get there?" and, consequently,
an awareness of one's values, purpose, roles and conscience plays a vital role in
taking certain steps to ensure that one realizes one's dreams.
Based on the contribution of self-awareness to various aspects of personal
leadership, the conclusion of this study was that self-awareness is a condition for
personal leadership.