Insight: The Surprising Truth About How Others See Us, How We See Ourselves, and Why the Answers Matter More Than We Think

I’m 75, and I’ve been working on my self-awareness and self-improvement for most of my adult life. I’ve read a lot of books. Even with that experience, I learned a lot from Insight: The Surprising Truth About How Others See Us, How We See Ourselves, And Why the Answers Matter More Than We Think by Tasha EurichEarly in the book, Tasha Eurich tells us why she wrote it: “I wrote Insight for anyone who wants to make the leap from self-blindness to self-insight, and in turn, reap the rewards of smarter choices, stronger relationships, and a better life.” Slightly further on she shares her hope for the book: “I’m hoping that this book will be a powerful wakeup call to three simple facts: that self-awareness is the exquisite foundation to a life well-lived, that it is possible to make the journey, and that the courage and effort it takes to get there are well worth it.” Amen. Here’s what you’ll find in the bookInsight is divided into three parts. In the first part of the book, Tasha Eurich covers the building blocks of self-awareness and roadblocks to self-awareness. She introduces us to her Seven Pillars of Insight. She’ll return to this idea throughout the book. The pillars give you an idea of what it means to be self-aware. Next, she discusses the various roadblocks to self-awareness. She wraps up part one by talking about something many other authors have covered. She calls it “The Cult of Self.” Part two is about internal self-awareness. Dr. Eurich deals with myths around how to develop internal self-awareness. One is the idea that introspection leads to insight. She shows you why it may not. There’s more like that. She ends part two by describing practical approaches you can use to increase internal self-awareness. Having dealt with internal self-awareness, Dr. Eurich turns to external self-awareness in part three. The key insight there is that we’re not good at developing external self-awareness on our own. There’s an excellent discussion here of the “Mum Effect.” It’s a key reason why it’s so hard to get candid, objective data on how we’re doing. She shows how to break through the barriers. The section concludes with an excellent discussion of how to hear feedback. Part four is about self-awareness in a team context. The biggest insight for me was that trying to force team candor can be a major mistake. Dr. Eurich lays out the building blocks you must put in place first. Part four finishes with a process she’s used for years to help teams exchange feedback in a safe, direct, and productive way. The content of this book is excellent but there are issues with the production. When I decide to review a book, I buy both the audiobook and the Kindle version. Listening to the audiobook slows me down and lets me deal with the material in a more-thoughtful way. I make note of things I want to highlight in the Kindle version. Normally, that’s not a problem. But the audio version from Audible and the Kindle version are not exactly the same. Some major parts are moved around, and some words and descriptions are in one version but not the other. If you’re reading either one or the other, that’s no problem. But if you, like me, use both the audio version and the Kindle version, this may frustrate you. There are other devices that will help you. Tasha Eurich boldfaces key ideas and concepts so you can both scan through a chapter and get clues about what you may want to highlight. There are summaries of key points at the end of every chapter. That’s a feature that I really like because I can go back and make flash cards of the end-of-chapter highlights, and thereby, have a quick way to review the book. In A NutshellAfter working on self-improvement and insight for more than 50 years, Insight: The Surprising Truth About How Others See Us, How We See Ourselves, And Why the Answers Matter More Than We Think by Tasha Eurich is the best, most-helpful book I’ve found. I’ll be combing back through it to work on specific items. If you’re looking for a book that will help you understand yourself and the way others see you, put this book at the top of your to-read list. Then, follow through and read it and apply what you learn.

It was with great anticipation that I cracked open the new book by Dr. Tasha Eurich, Insight: Why We’re not as Self-Aware as We Think, and How Seeing Ourselves Clearly Helps Us Succeed at Work and in Life. I was not disappointed. Dare I say, this new resource is packed full of insights and it is likely a book that the reader will not put down until it is consumed.On one hand this author grounds her cogent observations in research, accounting for a myriad of studies to support her many assertions. On the other hand, what makes this book so readable and compelling is her storytelling, alive with real world examples of failures, personal and business trials, and ultimately major findings and successes. Self-awareness sounds like a simple concept, but in reality it is very complex, requiring introspection and outward facing assessment. She covers these related but different aspects in great, interesting detail, weaving story after story to capture one’s interest. We learn about blind-spots, recognizable behaviors, seven pillars of insight, and building blocks for successful teams.I was particularly moved by reading about the experiences of Alan Mulally, of Boeing Company and Ford Motor Company fame. It became clear that his personal values, risk taking, and communication style were able to greatly transform a large organization overcome with tradition, old culture, obsolete reward systems and some recent failures. His formula was applied masterfully, and Dr. Eurich was able to apply this life and business success to her framework for self-awareness.I also appreciated at the end of her book a number of appendices which serve as practical approaches for self-discovery. These would also be useful for teams or organizations that wish to assess and develop together. Some case examples are also provided where team success has been achieved, even in the most trying of circumstances.Finally, I would comment that this book is worth reading more than once, and worth packing around for personal reference. There are many lessons included in this good read that should be recounted more than once. Sometimes it takes courage to be self-aware and to listen to the voices of others; but the reader is left with the belief that it is necessary, achievable, and worthy of such a personal investment. And that there is value both in the workplace, as well as the personal life outside of work.

Easy read with nice perspectives and chapter summaries. The structure is easy to follow. I could do without the typos: “As Benjamin Franklin one said…”