Understanding Me
"Know the enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles you will never be in peril.
When you are ignorant of the enemy but know yourself, your chances of winning or losing are equal.
If ignorant both of your enemy and of yourself, you are certain in every battle to be in peril"
Sun Tzu
Sun Tzu intimates that knowing yourself is half the battle, this doesn’t just apply to your troops but to you as an individual. Without truly know who you are you will always be on the back foot, sometimes not realising why.
It is important understand who you are. You will be found out quickly at AOSB if you are pretending to be something you are not, instead be the very best professional you.
Many leaders talk about authenticity in their actions and communications, but to be authentic you need be self-aware of what it is that you believe in and stand for. A by-product of becoming self-aware is that you will understand those around you better, and as a leader understanding your team is vital. Self-awareness also enables you to identify your strengths and weakness's, knowing this you will be able to know how to develop yourself to become the best version of you.
Understanding who you are is not something that happens overnight but from experiences and introspection. We are all subject to experiences but few really reflect upon them, real understanding comes from this self-examination. All great and successful leaders have/do keep a diary or use other tools of introspection. If you want to be a better leader and person this is something you should consider doing. Use the link provided to find out more about Reflective Writing or scroll down for more advice on understanding oneself.
This page is only a brief look into how best start to understand yourself, there are many book, course and videos on this subject so further personal research is advised.
A free online couse that will teach you how to write relfectivly and grow
The Centre of Australian Army Leadership along with th Australian Army have developed free apps to aid with keeping an mainting a reflective journal on your smart phone.
4 Steps to Become More Self-Aware
To understand yourself and others is a virtue, one that is not given to you, but one in you need to put effort into obtaining
1. Write down your goals and objectives in life
If you want to have a clear understanding of your present and future, take a piece of paper, and write down every goal/objective you have, no matter how big or small. This will show you where you are standing at the moment, and in which direction you are trying to move forward in life.
2. Practice meditation
Not everyone will find this to be a suitable option for themselves, but meditation can help you get in touch with your inner self. It can also provide moments of clarity, which is something that is incredibly important when you are trying to become more self-aware.
3. Ask questions
You won't know how you are behaving until someone tells you the truth. Therefore, ask your friends, family, co-workers how you are behaving with them. Don’t expect all of the answers to be true, but if you see a pattern in their answers you will have a real image for your behaviour, and you will be able to change/upgrade it.
4. Get out of your comfort zone
Putting yourself in different situations, not only those in who you are comfortable in, is a huge step towards understanding both yourself and others. You need to do this more often if you want to really see the world from a different perspective.
Soruce: Burno MirchevskiVaules
In the British Army the professional morals of the orginsation are called Vaules which can remembered used the anagram CDRILLS. As an officer you are to lead by example in all that you do, this includes living the vaules and standards in uniform as well as off dutiy.
As a starting point relfect on how the vaules and standards of the british army aline with your own morale compass and beliefs. This will aid you in understanding your own principles and what you stand for and against. There are no right or wrong answers here but great consdieration should be taken if your personal vaules are at odds with that of the British Army.
Below is a list of the values of the British Army followed by a video from the previous Army Sergeant Major about values and standards in modern day warfare.
Values of the British Army
Courage
Soldiers and officers must know what the right thing to do is and be brave enough to do it.
Discipline
The Army has to be a disciplined force, so every soldier needs to follow the rules and be responsible for themselves.
Respect For Others
No matter what situation you are in, you must show respect and tolerance for other people and be able to put yourself in their shoes.
Selfless Commitment
The needs of the team always come before your own needs. Soldiers are part of something bigger and must commit to it.
Loyalty
Loyalty is about supporting your team, looking after and helping them even when the going gets tough. In return, they do the same for you.
Integrity
Soldiers must always be honest, sincere, reliable and selfless. Soldiers must be loyal to the Army and be ready to do as it asks. The country relies upon it.
Talk on Values and Standards in 21st Century Warfare