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What self-awareness in leadership looks like in year 1 vs. year 10

Early on, leadership is about having answers. Over time, it becomes about understanding yourself and choosing how to show up in every moment.

Leaders often feel pressure to have everything figured out early in their careers.

They often believe: “I need to be decisive, certain, and in control.”

And for a while, that works. Until it doesn’t. Eventually, something shifts—not in what leaders know, but in how they experience themselves and their impact in their roles.

In a recent Truist Leadership Institute survey, nearly 90% of experienced leaders said their understanding of “good leadership” changed meaningfully over time.

That shift isn’t driven by knowledge alone. It reflects something deeper. A change in awareness that knowledge alone cannot produce.

How to develop self-awareness in leadership

At Truist Leadership Institute, we define Conscious Leadership as the ability to notice what’s happening in real time—your thoughts, emotions, and reactions—and understand how they influence outcomes. It’s a shift from operating on instinct to leading with awareness.

Throughout one’s career, leaders begin to see something clearly: Understanding yourself doesn’t just improve performance. It can define your leadership impact, shaping trust, culture, and decision-making.

Young man talking.

Early leadership: Confidence without context

Early in a leadership career, awareness tends to develop more slowly than other capabilities.

More than 50% of leaders say technical competence outpaces awareness early on. So, leaders rely on what feels solid, like execution, decisiveness, and delivering results.

There usually isn’t much time to stop and ask why. At the same time, every leader surveyed agreed there’s pressure to appear as though you have everything figured out. So even when uncertainty or emotion is present, it often goes unexamined.

Real-World Example First-time manager

A first-time manager leaves a meeting unsettled and mentally replaying a comment from a team member, unsure why it bothered them. There’s a strong pull to respond quickly. At this stage, awareness often shows up as a reaction.

Instead, many leaders operate from deeply held beliefs about what success requires. “People often hold onto success scripts,” says Cheryl Flink, Director of Research and Client Solutions at Truist Leadership Institute. “These can be things like, ‘I need to be perfect, I need to be in control, or I need to be liked.’”

These scripts operate quietly in the background, she says. When they’re triggered, they can lead to reactions that derail a leader and those around them. At this stage, awareness is present, but it remains largely inward-focused, which makes people wonder how they’re being perceived or whether they’re doing things correctly.

But it hasn’t yet expanded enough to interrupt those patterns.

The turning point: When awareness becomes necessary

That expansion doesn’t usually happen gradually. It tends to happen when something doesn’t go as expected. Nearly 90% of leaders say they became aware of meaningful blind spots after a setback or sustained challenge.

These moments can land differently. Feedback may feel sharper, teams react in ways you may not have anticipated, or decisions create consequences you may not have intended.

Real-World Example Mid-level leader

A leader receives feedback that a decision didn’t land well. The first instinct is to explain. Instead, they pause. They start to question their reaction, not just the outcome. This is where blind spots become visible.
teammate conversation

Suddenly, issues boil to the surface in ways you can’t ignore. You need to not only understand what you’re doing, but what’s driving it.

During this period, leaders often begin to notice:

  • The assumptions behind their reactions
  • The emotional patterns influencing behavior
  • The gap between intention and impact

This is usually a moment where something clicks. Awareness stops being something you think about and starts showing up in real time.

Experienced leadership: Awareness as capacity

Later in one’s leadership career, awareness becomes more about impact.

Leaders notice things they didn’t see before:

  • How their tone shapes trust
  • How their reactions set the emotional climate
  • How quickly teams take cues from what they do and don’t say

In fact, every leader surveyed agreed that teams observe far more than leaders expect. At this stage, awareness shows up as choice. Leaders can pause before reacting, stay present in difficult conversations, and respond in ways that build trust instead of eroding it.

Real-World Example Senior leader

A senior leader joins a meeting under pressure. They say very little, but can feel the intensity in the room. People hesitate. The conversation shifts. At this level, leaders recognize that how they show up is never neutral.

They’re no longer driven primarily by instinct or habit. Leaders can see patterns and decide whether to follow them. “To choose responses that align with who they want to be as leaders,” Cheryl says, “is a shift that can change the room.”

Nearly 90% of leaders also agree that adaptability is directly tied to self-awareness. Self-awareness becomes a stabilizing force. That doesn’t mean leadership is easier. But it can help leaders move through complexity without passing that pressure on to others.

Woman leading discussion.

One place to start

If you’re looking to deepen your Conscious Leadership, start small. When something feels charged, pause. Ask yourself: What got activated in me? And how do I want to respond?

As experience builds, leadership becomes more complicated. The stakes increase. The pressure grows. The path becomes less predictable. What changes is how leaders meet those moments. And once leaders see their patterns and choose how they show up, everything about leadership can change.

Connect with one of our business advisors to explore how Conscious Leadership can help your leaders recognize patterns, strengthen trust, and lead with greater intention.

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