This talk by Craig Groeschel on “Creating a Culture of Self Awareness” was worth the price of admission by itself. My notes by no means do this talk justice. You’re going to have to go to Catalyst One Day and hear it for yourself.

• Those who don’t know, don’t know they don’t know
• The higher we rise in an organization the more difficult it is to get people to tell you the truth, the more perceived power that you have the more people are going to tell you what they think you want to hear.
• The problems you don’t know about are the problems you can’t fix

3 Principles of Self-Deception

1. We as leaders have limitless capacity for self-deception

• As leaders we love to tell ourselves that things are better than they really are
  

2. The longer we believe a lie the harder it is to hear the truth

3. The leaders lack of self-awareness is the leaders greatest barrier

• The problem with the self-deceived leader is we always find something else or someone else to blame
• We need to change our language from “They won’t…” to “I haven’t led them to…”

How do we uncover the truth about ourselves?

1. Pray ask God to point it out to you

2. Listen

• The more convinced I am that I’m right about something; the more likely it is I’m wrong (Peter is a great example of this…”Jesus I’ll never leave you…”)
• Build a team that craves and gives helpful feedback
• If the Leader isn’t open to evaluation then no one else in the organization will be either
• Implement annual 360 evaluations for every team member
• Really listening to others about yourself will be more helpful and more hurtful than you will ever imagine

3. Change when God shows you something…do it

Moments that God used to get my attention:

• When I heard Bill Hybels say, “The way I’ve been doing the work of God has been destroying the work of God in me.”
• When my young daughter innocently said, “This isn’t your home, you live at the church.”
• When I recognized that my self worth was connected to the growth and decline of the church.
• When my wife told me over and over and over again for months, “Would you please put down your phone and be a dad.”

• We confess to God for forgiveness…we confess to others for restoration and healing

Want to grab more Catalyst Resources for yourself and your team? I’m giving away a brand new copy of “The Power of Momentum” a 4-part video teaching series from Andy and Craig. Just sign up here and I’ll let everyone know who the winner is next week!