He reminds us of the Greek wisdom, “know thyself.” Strengths, weaknesses, bias, blindspots, and other characteristics belong to each of us.
The first time I saw a patient taking a certain medicine, they were having a severe allergic reaction. I never prescribe it, although the reaction was rare. Same principle? Our high school team lost a sectional championship by doubling the post and not rotating.
Conversely during tryouts of young players, I’ll give the exceptional athlete a longer look, even when they lack skills. Most of us believe we can develop skills where marked athleticism is God given.
In Cleveland, Bill Belichick was viewed as an autocrat lacking emotional intelligence. As he begins his 47th season of NFL coaching, that view has softened.
George also explains that extreme (top 1%) intelligence can be an impediment to decision-making because geniuses think they can’t be wrong.
I don’t think I’m good at teaching rebounding but have enjoyed good rebounding teams. How? I’m good at selecting rebounders.
Therapist Nick Wignall shared ideas to improve self-awareness. Three concepts I believe in are mindfulness, feedback from trusted colleagues, and avoiding taking things personally (a soft skill to grow).
Ask ourselves how our behavior, words, or decisions make others feel. Put ourselves in their shoes and it helps us understand their feelings.
Our self-awareness impacts others every day and merits investment to improve.
Lagniappe (something extra). A TED Talk about motivated reasoning. Do we want our position to be adopted or to be truthful after careful study? Curiosity and openness help the latter.
This is relevant for our choice of players, techniques, and tactics (e.g. zone defense).