What keeps you awake at night?

Ask a CEO what keeps them awake and you’ll probably get a predictable list. It might include external factors – the state of the economy, something a competitor is doing, changes in regulation. Or it might be more focused around internal stuff – an exec hire that’s not working out, a tricky board relationship, or investors demanding ever better performance.

Of course, these things are real, and very challenging. In my experience from working with CEOs though, is that what’s surfacing at 3am tends to be a bit more personal.

Most senior leaders I work with know themselves well. They’ve done the psychometrics, the 360s, the coaching. They have a sophisticated understanding of how they’re wired and what happens when they’re under pressure.

But as I explored in a recent piece for European Business Magazine, self-awareness without behaviour change is really nothing more than introspection. And this introspection isn’t always the most relaxing company – especially in the middle of the night.

Change happens incrementally

All the executives I know want to keep getting better. They know that reflection and self-awareness are key parts of this. But often, they struggle to put this knowledge into something practical.

It’s often about intention and mindfulness. C-suite leaders are busy. They often get to the c-suite by getting stuff done, knowing the answers, barking out orders. But at the top, these strengths can be overplayed.

Leaders struggle to let go of their biases and views, and listen to their teams. They struggle to ask for help from their colleagues. They feel discomfort but fall back on tried and tested behaviours to get themselves through tricky situations, when it’s possible that something very different is required.

What can you do

The leaders I work with who sleep better still have lots of problems to deal with. But they know that the best thing they can do is to close the gap between what they know about themselves and how they actually operate.

This is not a linear process. It’s impossible to do perfectly. And it happens incrementally.

One conversation at a time.

One meeting at a time.

One decision at a time.

This sort of change accumulates. It builds trust and honest challenge. Honest challenge leads to better decisions. And better decisions make better businesses.