"Know thyself" who has never heard this famous quote from Socrates?
Self-knowledge is, in my opinion, a pillar of emotional intelligence. I will go further by saying that it is the basis of professional efficiency. It is defined by the potential to become aware of one's ability to perform one task rather than another. Know your limits and your needs. But it is also a vector of self-confidence. We will see, through different examples, how self-knowledge has become an essential daily soft-skill in both the professional and personal spheres.
The multiple variations of self-knowledge
In a research work, recently published by Morin and Racy (2021), we discover that self-knowledge has an influence in all aspects of daily life:
"Self-knowledge in psychology is a real and concrete datum that an individual knows about himself. This includes data on emotional state, personality traits, relationships, behavioral routines, beliefs, values, desires, goals, tastes, and social identity."
It plays a vital role in mental health.
According to the study by Schaffner (2020), "self-knowledge develops our ability to live consistent and rewarding lives. In addition, it allows us to know our fears and motivations and it develops control over our emotions."
Self-knowledge is therefore lived on a daily basis and in all spheres. It participates in the construction of the individual.
What importance in the professional sphere?
Self-awareness is an essential soft skill for any employee. Because he must be able to make decisions alone, be sure of his actions, this is where his professional effectiveness lies. Indeed, from self-knowledge comes self-confidence, motivation or even perseverance.
To gain in efficiency, the collaborator must be aware of his strengths, his weaknesses as well as his own limits. And it is in this sense that self-knowledge is an essential asset in professional efficiency.
Like all soft-skills, it is possible to exploit it...
How to develop this “Soft-Skill”?
Whether it is to develop professional efficiency or in a process of personal development, it is essential to take a step back.
I offer you some exercises to start this process.
You can start by asking yourself the question "Who am I intrinsically?", then answer the question "How do I think others perceive me?"
For the second question, I invite you to enter into a dialogue with your loved ones, your peers. Tools exist to develop self-knowledge. You can use a personality test that will help develop these “soft skills”; it is an interesting basis for learning more about personality and the natural predispositions to develop certain skills.
Personality tests are great tools for measuring self-knowledge. From these tests results the information and data necessary for the development of another soft-skill, self-confidence. And also this soft-skill will be useful to you both in the personal and professional sphere.
Self-knowledge - a step towards confidence ...
Self-knowledge allows you to have a more positive view of your person and therefore to gain confidence.
I am sure that you all have an example in your professional or personal environment where you have been able to impose yourself because you have mastered your subject perfectly. Beyond confidence and expertise, it is here that self-knowledge plays a role in your success. This knowledge of yourself will allow you to be certain of your words, and therefore to make you someone "sure" at the instant T.
