104 Ducere Est Servire: THE LEADERSHIP JOURNAL OF DALLAS BAPTIST UNIVERSITY personhood, illustrating interdependence and requiring further learning to develop and increase effectiveness.59 Success on the quest toward self-awareness engages one’s personhood with a sense of curiosity. Hunter contended, “The ability to listen effectively is a powerful tool in developing awareness,”60 a tool that must be used for this factor to be fully explored. In addition to developing a strong listening skill, self-awareness comes from intentionality within the environment. Many practical self-awareness tools are developed from self-other agreement ratings, confirmed by McNaughton, who asserted selfawareness learning comes from “the ability to distinguish oneself and one’s values from others and theirs.”61 For learning to be a factor in self-awareness development, one must be intentional in learning about others. The exploration of different perspectives requires an ability and desire to learn. Learning about others expands one’s worldview and increases the ability to measure them against a more comprehensive standard. Ashley and Reiter-Palmon concluded, “Individuals often use a reflective process whereby they imagine themselves from the vantage point of another to compare self-evaluations against others’ evaluations.”62 A willingness to learn is implied in each of the activities and tools used to gain self-awareness. In a spiritual context, God’s desire is for His people to be learners. With statements like “let the wise listen and add to their learning” (Proverbs 1:5) or “fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Proverbs 1:7), the inspired words of Scripture point toward the importance of this factor, even as philosophers throughout history have ascribed great leaders with self-awareness.63 The case to attain the status of a learner and continue the quest toward self-awareness is clear. Still, in addition to humility and becoming a learner, engagement in the process is vital to attaining self-awareness. Factor 3: Engage the Process Engagement is the final crux of the self-awareness factors. Participation in the process of self-assessment takes time, energy, a long-term investment, and a commitment to progress regardless of location. Showry and Manasa regarded “soft skills like self-awareness as one of the pillars of managerial capabilities that predicts managerial
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