Manfred Kets de Vries notes in his work ‘Leaders, Fools and Impostors: Essays on the Psychology of Leadership’, that executives have a notoriously underdeveloped capacity for self-understanding and reflection; and if individuals are not willing to look inwards at themselves, how can we trust them to look inwards at the organization?

In order to excel at the fundamentals, therefore, it seems clear that an individual must first understand his or her strengths and limitations. Consequently, understanding oneself becomes a core strategic imperative; for this understanding will become the first step towards driving individual performance, that of others, and ultimately that of the organization.

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This article is part of Axon's Leadership Development Process.  To view other articles in this process please visit the Leadership Development page.