EM Leaders: Self-Awareness

Module Two: Internal Self-Awareness

Let’s talk about self-awareness. According to the Harvard Business Review, there are two types of self-awareness: internal and external.

Internal self-awareness is understanding ourselves. What motivates us, what our strengths and weaknesses are, being aware of our own emotions and behaviour and what affects them. Being internally self-aware can help us feel comfortable in our own skin and accepting of ourselves.

External self-awareness is understanding how others see us. This can be more tricky. It is very easy for us to transpose our own interpretations of ourselves and imagine others see us in the same light. Others may recognise different strengths, weaknesses and motivators, some of which we may find surprising. Being externally self-aware means that we understand how we are truly perceived by others. This, in turn, allows us to build more effective relationships with those around us.

We’ll cover this aspect of self-awareness in future posts. For now, let’s think about developing our internal self-awareness.

Let’s consider what motivates us. What are our beliefs, attitudes and values? Watch this video to understand the difference between these:

Understanding and defining goals and values

Medicine can become a goal-driven vocation. It begins with the goal of getting into medical school, followed by the goal of passing exams to eventually qualify as a doctor. We realise then that we have just stepped off one escalator onto another and now we have to decide on which specialty we want to do and that will allow us to achieve it such as getting interview short-listed, passing exams and building a competitive portfolio. We think that it will all be over when we obtain CCT and become Consultants, only to realise that there is a further escalator waiting for us. Do we want to be Head of Service? Medical Director? College Chair?

Goals are important, and often necessary, but when we focus on our goals, we have our eyes on the destination and can sometimes forget to appreciate the journey. As doctors in Emergency Medicine, how easy is it to focus on the goal of giving antibiotics within the hour, ruling out serious illness or meeting the four-hour target rather than considering the ideas, concerns and expectations of the patient in front of us? Yet, having meaningful interaction with our patients is one of the most rewarding aspects of our job and results in better quality care.

Read what Lori Eisner has to say about The Difference Between Goals and Values and Why Both Matter…

EM Leaders Framework reference: (3.1) EM Leadership skills: Aware of personal values, beliefs and principles.

Queries, questions and comments are always gratefully received. Please send feedback to: kate.russ@uhl-tr.nhs.uk

HEEM EM Leaders Team: Kate Russ, Liz Saunders, Frank Coffey, Venkat Kotamraju