Self-awareness is a useful skill in the workplace. It helps people understand how they think, communicate and respond to situations. For HR teams, supporting self-awareness can improve how individuals work together, how decisions are made, and how feedback is received.
It also plays a role in shaping behaviour that aligns with company values, which helps build trust and consistency across teams.
The good news is, promoting self-awareness doesn’t require new systems or major investments. It can be supported through small, practical changes to the way conversations and processes are already handled.
Reflection helps people recognise patterns in how they respond to challenges or interact with others. Encouraging this kind of thinking can lead to more thoughtful decision-making and better collaboration.
Here are a few ways to build reflection into existing processes:
Ask reflective questions during regular 1:1s. For example: “What’s something that’s gone well recently?” or “Is there anything you’d approach differently next time?”
Include self-awareness prompts in coaching or development sessions. This could be a short moment at the end to consider what someone learned about themselves.
Make use of existing wellbeing tools that support personal reflection, such as guided journaling or on-demand coaching.
These small actions can encourage people to pause, take stock, and develop a better understanding of how they work.
Managers play an important role in helping their teams develop self-awareness, but they need to feel confident in how to approach it. HR can support managers with basic training or resources that focus on:
Giving feedback in a way that encourages reflection, rather than defensiveness
Understanding common emotional responses to pressure or uncertainty
Asking open-ended questions that prompt discussion
This doesn’t have to involve large-scale training. A short guide, conversation template, or team session can be enough to get started. The goal is to build reflection into day-to-day management, not to create something separate or time-consuming.
Self-awareness doesn’t need to be introduced as a new initiative. It can be supported through existing HR tools and frameworks. For example:
Include self-reflection prompts in performance and development reviews
Connect the theme of self-awareness to wider wellbeing or culture programmes
Use current mental health and coaching platforms to support individual learning
By linking reflection to what’s already happening across the organisation, HR teams can embed self-awareness without adding extra workload.
When people understand themselves better, they tend to make clearer decisions and respond more calmly under pressure. They’re also more likely to take feedback constructively and recognise the impact of their behaviour on others.
For HR, this can reduce friction between teams, improve communication, and support a more open and supportive working environment. Over time, a culture that encourages self-awareness is likely to be more adaptable, more consistent, and more able to handle change well.
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