Self-awareness is one of the most basic qualities that are needed by people to have a better performance at the workplace, success and more effectiveness and efficiency in the leadership. However, in today’s modern world, people think that they are self-aware although a very small fraction of the entire workforce is. In a research, it was found that 95 percent of the total workforce of the sample believed that they are self-aware, however, only 10-15 percent were actually self-aware.

Working with unaware team members is not only frustrating and stressful; it also impacts your working habits, methods and patterns. Sometimes, working with such people starts pulling you down so badly that you yourself might start feeling demotivated and might also leave the job and the workplace. This can give rise to various career issues and hamper the inner peace that one needs at the workplace to keep him interested and work with the most optimum capabilities. In this blog of Transformation Tuesday, we will be telling our readers how to deal with such situations and at the same time help the unaware team members see themselves more clearly.

Get to know about the problem and understand it

Many times, people fail to understand exactly what is creating problems for them in working together. Conflicts between two people are not always caused by unawareness of one, there are many other reasons such as lack of communication, different working styles and priorities that can also cause conflicts. Hence, it becomes very important to understand the problem that is hampering the relation between two individuals to solve them.

Moreover, it is also important to know if the person is really unaware of things or he is doing things in full conscience and just doesn’t want to change. Getting to know the difference is the key since the unaware wants to collaborate and add value but fails to do it however, the rigid ones do it just to prove their point.

Help the unaware

Once you have recognized the individual who is unaware about the circumstances and the impacts it is having at the workplace, it is now time and mostly your responsibility that you help him in becoming more efficient with his work by making him aware.

Many people might feel that they are not the right messenger to convey this message to the suffering individual which is a very valid concern and consequently restrain themselves from helping them. However, in a study, it was found that 21 percent of the people who did not take a step forward later regretted their decision while 31 percent people successfully helped their colleagues improve and perform better.

Another reason that might bother people is what if their intentions are taken wrongly and their move backfires. One might fear that instead of helping the individual he might end up making him angry and furious. Again, it is your job to help your unaware colleague or the least you can do is ask someone higher in the hierarchy to help him since power will automatically dominate the worst case scenario of conflict and anger.

Working with unaware team members can easily turn things upside down and can crash someone’s productivity. It is quintessential for everyone to work in a healthy and productive environment that can help them in becoming more efficient and achieving their desired goals and targets instead of just pulling them down. Working with unaware employees can be troublesome, but it is again your choice to help the individual that will decide the course of your bonding and relationship with him and your working patterns and cultures.

Written & Compiled by Faber Kishlay & Faber Mayuri.