From Buzzword to Breakthrough: Real Steps to Self-Aware Leadership
We’ve all heard it: “Great leaders are self-aware.”
But how many times has someone actually shown you how to build that self-awareness?
In this powerful clip from Stepping Into Soul Power, executive coach and leadership educator Katie O’Malley (M.S. Counseling) moves beyond the buzzword to share real, practical steps you can use today to deepen your self-awareness as a leader.
This isn’t about theory. It’s about learning to pause, reflect, and lead from a place of clarity and authenticity… so you can make better decisions, strengthen relationships, and inspire those around you.
If you’ve ever wanted to understand yourself more deeply and show up as the leader your soul knows you can be, this conversation is for you.
Watch the clip here: https://youtu.be/x8PjZ8gGR3U
Check out the full podcast episode on September 29, 2025 at 7 PM MST. Available on Spotify and @inspiresoulinyou .
May this message ripple outward and support every person ready to lead from awareness, heart, and soul.
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To connect with Katie O’Malley:
Instagram: www.instagram.com/encouragecoachchicago
Facebook: www.facebook.com/encouragecoachchicago
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kateomalley/
Visit her website at: http://www.encouragecoaching.org
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Hashtags:
#SelfAwareLeadership #AuthenticLeadership #SoulAlignedLeadership #SteppingIntoSoulPower #KatieOMalley #LeadershipGrowth #LeadWithIntegrity #ConsciousLeadership #PersonalGrowth #LeadershipDevelopment
Full Transcript
Introduction to Self-Awareness and the Five-Factor Model 0:00
So when I think about self-awareness, I really think of it through the lens of the five-factor model of personality, right? So it's five dimensions that has been well researched back from the 1950s, consistently updated, but thinking about the dimensions of who we are as humans in terms of our adjustment our extraversion, our openness to experiences, or agreeableness, and our dependability. And so I would encourage folks, write those five down and think about it.
Reflecting on Personality Traits and Their Impact 0:39
How open am I to experience? What are the things that tend to get me curious? Why do people depend on me for and what do they tend not depend me on for? What are the things that make me feel at peace and make my nervous system of feel, at rest? And what are things kind of kick it out of whack? When I'm in a space, how much of that space am I taking up? Either in the ways that I assert myself or the way that socialize. And then when I communicate, do I tend to be more direct and candid? or do I tend to be a little more harmony seeking?
And regardless of your answers, there's no right or wrong answers.
Getting Feedback from Others 1:32
Good or bad responses. What you need to then remember is 50% of the population is showing up differently than that and sometimes significantly different than. And it's not about you becoming more like them or them becoming how you can take your self-awareness and understanding to be more effective in a situation where someone might not have that same level of awareness as you do. And so again, starting with reflection, I think those five dimensions are a really good place to start. Then going to your friends, family, partner, being like, this is how I show up.
and how I think people experience me.
Aligning Behavior with How You Want to Be Seen 2:16
What do you, what do ya got for me? Is this accurate or is my intention different than the impact that I'm having? So kind of that initial two step approach and then deciding is this how i want people to experience m and if it is getting really clear on what those behaviors are and turning up the volume on those. I Not I think, I know it's Dolly Parton who says, figure out who you are and do it on purpose. And if it is not how you want people to experience you, figuring out what are the behaviors that most align with how people want to see you as you move through the world.
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