Freedom Friday

Tavia Robinson
Oct 31
3 min read

Good Morning, and Happy Halloween!

Welcome to this week’s Freedom Friday post — where we step into your role as a coaching partner to yourself and your teams, particularly relevant for those of you in executive leadership, influencing teams across industries, and guiding change in volatile times.

Spotlight On: Self-Awareness

You may have asked yourself:

“Why does (fill in the blank – that person, that behavior, that comment) irritate me so much?”

Maybe you don’t need words from them. Perhaps just the mention of their name—or the memory of their presence—gets under your skin.

Interesting, right? Because often the real “why” behind that irritation is less about them and more about you. The friction becomes a mirror.

Self-awareness (noun): conscious knowledge of one’s own character, feelings, motives, and desires.

From a leadership and coaching perspective, self-awareness is foundational. It enables you to observe your own internal world—your strengths, your reactive patterns, your motivations—and thereby show up more intentionally, with greater agility, in your external world.

Why It Matters For Leaders & Influencers

From research and practice:

According to Peter Sear in “The Power of Self-Awareness in Leadership”, self-awareness helps a leader better understand emotional triggers and therefore make more thoughtful decisions rather than reactive ones.
The Tasha Eurich insight: while 95% of people believe they’re self-aware, only 10-15% truly are — meaning there’s a gap between perception and reality.
From a practical toolkit standpoint: simple exercises like mindful pauses, journaling, trigger-tracking help surface blind spots and build self-knowledge.

When you lead with self-awareness, you’re not just managing external results — you’re attending to your interior landscape. That in turn changes how you lead others, influence culture, respond under pressure, and create psychological safety for your teams.

Coaching-Style Questions for Reflection & Dialogue

*Consider using these questions for your own reflection — and/or use them with your leadership team or peers to spark meaningful dialogue:

What is it about “them” (the person, the behavior, the trigger) that irritates me?
- What does their behavior activate in me?
- What am I uncomfortable seeing in myself that shows up in this reaction?
How do I show up when that trigger happens?
- What thoughts run through my mind?
- What is my bodily response (tightened shoulders, faster breathing, shut-down communication)?
If I step back and treat myself like a client, what would I coach myself to do next?
- What new option might I choose rather than my default response?
- What inner resource (strength, value, skill) could I draw on instead?
How do I want to show up instead?
- What behavior or conversation might I initiate with my team that reflects a more intentional presence?
- What feedback or input could I solicit that would expand my external awareness?
What action will I commit to this week?
- A deliberate pause before responding in a difficult moment?
- A short journaling exercise to capture one strength + one developmental area from a recent encounter?
- A small experiment to ask a trusted colleague: “How am I showing up in this situation?”

Invitation for your community and teams

Share this post with your leadership groups and invite colleagues to pick one question and bring their reflection to your next huddle.
Encourage your team members to write down one trigger they noticed this week, what they learned about themselves, and one new response they will try.
Make it safe to talk about hidden triggers — create space in your team meeting to surface “what pushed me this week” and “what I learned”.

Takeaway

In these politically-charged, uncertain times, leadership demands more than directing strategy — it demands leading with awareness, authenticity, and adaptability.

When you choose to pause, reflect, and intentionally respond rather than react, you create freedom: for yourself, your team, and your organization.