I’ve been playing Madden for many years. For those who don’t play, each player is given skill attributes such as speed, agility, and strength that parallels their real-life abilities. Awareness, however, is the attribute that most reflects how great of a player is. In Madden terms, how quickly they adapt to their surroundings. Take seven-time Super Bowl champ, Tom Brady as an example. His physical attributes are middle of the pack to below average, but his awareness score is 98, best amongst all QBs.
In real life, awareness is just as important as it is in a videogame to your success, particularly the more senior you are at your company. When you’re an individual contributor, you’re aware of all of the small details, how long each project takes, and the harmful effects of thrash (because you’re doing the work!). But the more senior you become, the more susceptible you are to losing awareness of what’s really going on at a company. You don't receive regular feedback from a manager -- after all, no one tells the Emperor they aren’t wearing clothes, you’re not spending as much time in the weeds, and therefore when you direct people, it can feel ungrounded in truths and can completely miss the mark.
In my experience, the best leaders have a high awareness of their situation and team. They know when to press, when to give the team time to breathe, and understand that even an off-handed comment can sometimes have company-reaching ramifications. They are best at managing their own psychology, per Ben Horowitz or at least pretending to do so.
When I was running Luxe, I remember how brutal our series B fundraise went. I did so many investor pitches (over 100) that I was basically living on Sand Hill Road and South Park. Since the team saw that I was missing most of the day, they naturally knew I was fundraising which would always be super awkward whenever I would come back into the office -- sometimes to a standing ovation -- expecting good news, only to hear from me that we got rejected again. If I weren’t aware of the team’s reading of my body language, words, and emotions, I would have let my depression get the best of me and I would have lost the team. Being aware saved the company.
On the opposite end, the worst leaders are those that mix a lack of awareness with self-centered behavior. The ones who are unwilling to deal with their emotions that they end up actualizing and sharing their insecurities and anxieties with others. It comes in the form of lashing out or creating unnecessary work to make themselves look or feel better at the team’s expense. We’ve all worked with these types of folks. My advice is when you see this to let them know. Chances are they’re too unaware to know otherwise.