Introduction   Aidan James Higgins is the CEO of ADEO Consulting. He is a Leadership Consultant, Emotional intelligence & Teamwork specialist and is passionate about getting people to be at their best. He is the author of the book Lead From You, which launched at the end of 2021 and is now in 7 countries.    Podcast Episode Summary   This episode speaks to three concepts, awareness, authenticity & emotional intelligence. Aidan employs the psychometric The Enneagram to support leaders understand themselves and others better and to Lead from You.  Points made across the podcast episode    Fish Slap story explored and why it resonated with Aidan. He was woken up at a Management Training Program where he realised, he was living from one world view. The training had shocked Aidan that the world he had been inhabiting was only one point of view.   Most of us are asleep. We are working on our programming without interrogating it to improve our self- awareness.  Aidan wrote the book Lead From You because of the appreciation clients & friends held for the work and their interest in learning more.  Feedback from the book suggests readers are appreciating the importance of self-awareness and how it is contributing to clarity of decision making, trust building, empathy & compassion  Aidan points out that we must have self-compassion to appreciate we have grown up to be & do in a particular way and until we come to be aware we think it is the only way.  Aidan has attempted to author a book that helps a person be a more complete person, to be happier and to lead.  Aware, emotionally intelligent & authentic Leadership is what is needed in the 21st century  People & Leaders need to wake up and pull back what is referred to as the veil of illusion.  To become self-aware, to be authentic and emotionally intelligent requires of a leader or team member to wake up. Once people wake up, they generally become curious to learn more.  Resistance is often present in this work, too many of us are trained to avoid emotion, being soft and being empathetic or compassionate.  People do not realise they are unaware. Aidan shares a story from Anthony de Mello to help explain what he means by being self-aware.  Tich Na Han says “people will not change until they are sick of suffering” We are subject to a programming that was brought into us early on in our lives. We make all kinds of assumptions about the way we are to lead or act. Example: Must remain in control.  Benefits of becoming self-aware & other awareness means clearer decisions, clearer emotional awareness and therefore information, access to creativity and innovation.  We evolve a view of the world until we see it from where it has come and how useful it is to remain. For example, the child who learns to please people to get attention or a person who is ignored if they do not win can be programs that thwart successful leadership in the future.  Becoming self-aware is not a thing you do it is about understanding. Knowing what water is doesn’t make you wet.  Aidan helps clients become aware by first creating a safe space to be together and then by sharing how people are likely to have come up through the world. He shares his framework and gives people space to reflect on their beliefs, habits and patterns, ways that have informed up until now.  Aidan shares another example where he asks a client how is feeling when he is not working. The client responded “trapped” and felt the rise of anxiety when he wasn’t doing anything. This client then became aware that underneath is drive to get things done, there was an anxiety driving this way of being.  Understanding changes behaviour not a set of things to do.  Sometimes you ask someone how they feel, and they do not have the words or language to tell you. It can often be about giving clients words.   According to a Harvard Business Review, improved self-awareness on teams doubles decision making capability & doubles the ability of a team to deal with conf