ADKAR, But Make It Personal – A is for Awareness
- Jun 10
- 1 min read
Most executives know they need to change something long before anyone else says it out loud.
The trap is staying at a vague level:
“I’m overwhelmed.”
“My calendar is running me.”
“My team is too dependent on me.”
Awareness for personal growth needs to be uncomfortably specific:
“I say I want strategic time, but I’m still accepting every ‘quick call’.”
“I avoid one particular stakeholder, and it keeps costing us.”
“I talk about empowerment, but I keep jumping back into the weeds.”
A simple way to sharpen awareness:
🏹 Pick one area you’re not happy with (time, boundaries, conflict, energy).
🏹 Finish the sentence: “What I’m actually doing that contributes to this is…”
🏹 Then: “The impact of that on me and others is…”
Awareness is not self‑criticism.
It’s accurate data.
Once you’ve experimented with this yourself, ask: what would it look like to make this the norm on my team, not just in my own head? To expand this with your team:
🏹 Share one specific awareness you’ve had about your own behaviour and what it costs. Then invite them (voluntarily) to name one thing they’re noticing in their own work that might be ready for an upgrade. Keep it non‑punitive and curiosity‑driven.
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