Self-Awareness: Beyond the Soft Skill Myth

Self-awareness often gets tossed into the soft skills bucket, as if it’s one of the many competencies we should be “good at” if we want to lead, collaborate, or communicate effectively.  This is a myth. 

Self-awareness is not a soft skill. It’s the tool that helps you build them. 

Self-awareness is an accelerator — think of it like this: Soft skills like humility, curiosity, relationship-building, resilience, tolerance of ambiguity, and perspective-taking can be observed and practiced. They’re the things people notice about how you show up at work, in conversations, and on teams. 

Self-awareness, on the other hand, is internal.  It’s the quiet recognition of your default patterns:

• Self-awareness of your blind spots in assuming the best in others affects your relationship-building

• Self-awareness of the situations when you need to ask more questions affects your level of curiosity

• Self-awareness of the environments that put you in a stretch zone affects your resilience 

You can’t develop soft skills unless you can see those patterns clearly. 

Why This Distinction Matters

If we label self-awareness a “soft skill”, we skip over the very step that makes growth possible. Without self-awareness, we’re left with vague feedback (“you need to be more collaborative”) and generic training (“here’s how to have difficult conversations”) that rarely changes behavior.

But when someone becomes aware of their own tendencies, such as how they respond to ambiguity, when they feel anxious, or how they handle cultural differences, they gain agency. Through their self-awareness, development has the chance to stick. 

So Where Does Assessment Fit?

High-quality assessments are what turn the lights on. They give people a glimpse of their actions, values, and mindsets.  For example, are you wired to prefer structure? Do you value harmony over directness? Do you bounce back easily, or does uncertainty shake your confidence?

These aren’t right or wrong answers. They’re starting points for growth. 

How myGiide Makes This Actionable

That’s exactly what myGiide was designed to do.  myGiide helps individuals identify their unique strengths and growth areas across the six essential soft skills:  humility, curiosity, relationship-building, resilience, tolerance of ambiguity, and perspective-taking.

From there, learners gain tailored guidance through BridgeIt, our AI-powered coach. Whether it’s learning how to ask better questions, bounce back from setbacks, or navigate complex work situations, the development is personalized and actionable, increasing self-awareness.

Leaders can also get a group snapshot to better support their teams, and learners can retest to track their progress over time.

Bottom Line

Self-awareness is something to use on your way to personal and professional growth. It’s not a soft skill…it’s the beginning of all of them.