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Self-Awareness

What behavior do you repeat?

Youtube Cover _ Routine [29679]-01

Why do I ask?

Because the behavior you repeat will determine your results.

A quick definition -

Routine: a sequence of actions and behaviors that are regularly followed.

When was the last time you checked in on whether your behavior led to the results you want?

Why should you care?

As a leader, it's your job to show up as your best self (as often as you can), and your routine will help enable that.

So, are you achieving your goals the way you want?

If you answered no to either question, you mi…

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You are what you read

My Top 3 Books of 2020

I prefer - 'you are what you do' and that 'reading can help you improve, expand, shift, upgrade, change.'

Unless I am reading a book for pure entertainment, I am always thinking about applying what I'm reading to improve my mental, physical, or emotional well-being.

The long and short of it: Taking care of your needs and remembering you are a human being is the first step to being a better leader, and books can help you not forget that.

Akua Favorite 2020 Books

My top three books from 2020 are about:

  1. How a talen…

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I’m a work in progress

12Lessons

This year I decided to do something uncomfortable. Each month I shared my highs and lows on my Instagram.  Each month I shared my reflections and lessons learned. 

These were the top 12 lessons I learned in 2020:

  1. Planning gives me confidence
  2. I have an amazing network
  3. I can be sad and grateful at the same time
  4. I have a strong sense of self and it can be very overwhelming to others
  5. Boundaries, Boundaries, Boundaries
  6. Consistently put yourself out there
  7. I can be vulnerable and still an exp…

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I Still Have a Fear of Public Speaking But...

#47 Blog Posts

Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to talk about three things I've learned through having leadership positions at one of my favorite female-focused organizations, FemGems.

I mentioned that I am primarily an introvert, and someone asked how I became comfortable expressing myself out loud. I responded with three key thoughts:

  1. Taking the time to learn the stories I was telling myself around speaking: The main story I told myself was that I couldn't slow down and that slowing down my speaki…

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Do you ever find it challenging to be authentically you?

YouTubeCovers for Jen

Throughout my growth as a leader, I’ve noticed that negative thoughts tend to creep in. These thoughts are based on circumstances in the past, but they get in the way of my being productive in the present.

I’ve found that the best way to get past these thoughts is to have a conversation - to get out of my head and talk through them with someone who can provide a new perspective.

One of my favorite spaces to have that conversation is the Conspiring Women Peer Coaching Co-Op, run by Jen Walper R…

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Your Weaknesses Don't Matter

#41

Ok, that is not entirely true, but what I want to suggest is that you focus on how best to leverage your strengths instead.

I love using assessments to learn more about myself and to share how others can use me more effectively.

This week I wanted to share an assessment I sometimes use with my clients:

How You Self Sabotage

I love this assessment because it gives you the vocabulary to talk about some of the things that hold us back.  

When I need to help a leader explain some of the negativ…

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I'm My Own Worst Enemy

7 resources

❌ This is just who I am

❌ I can’t change

❌ I can’t do any better

Those are all versions statements I used to tell myself and mutter to others when I was afraid or feeling uncomfortable.


Now when I say those statements to myself, I get really curious and start to ask myself:

Is this true?

Is this statement holding me back?

✅ Am I just afraid and starting to get close to the edge of my comfort zone?

 

I find that usually, I am my own worst enemy.

A lot of my success has come from jus…

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We are Never 100% Happy or Excited to do our Jobs.  

Blog #36

Even as leaders we do not like everything we have to do.

Invoicing, building budgets, and approving spending used to be super cumbersome for me.

So I appointed someone on my team to help me with it.

Now that I work for myself, I have to make it work and have selected a specific time in my schedule to tackle it.  I even reward myself when I complete my finance-related work.

In every position, we have a range of motivation and engagement. 

We are never 100% happy or excited to do our jobs.  

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They Aren't You

Blog Images #34

That is what self-awareness is all about.

Remembering that people are not you.

And making the most of who you are.

Did you know that according to research done by an organizational psychologist, researcher, and New York Times bestselling author Tasha Eurich working with colleagues who aren’t self-aware can cut a team’s success in half?  

You can probably replace colleagues with any stakeholder.

There are three basic ways to start to cultivate your self-awareness:

  1. Internal Reflection
  2. Ext…

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Something I Learned the Hard Way

Week 33

In my last post, I shared the importance of awareness and how it has been key to my growth.  

Awareness is a critical component of what I teach.  

It is the first thing I cover with clients.

I wanted to introduce you to the basic framework I take my clients through no matter the new habit or approach they are trying to build: 

  1. Cultivate Self-Awareness - I love creating a safe space for my clients to learn more about themselves and using what they have learned to get more done.  I help my c…

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