Are You the Leader You Think You Are?

At some point we have all experienced it: a leader who can’t see their own weaknesses, misreads their impact on others, and creates chaos without even realizing it. You watch decisions get made for the wrong reasons, accountability disappear, and excuses multiply. You see finger-pointing instead of ownership, defensiveness instead of reflection, and a trail of exhausted teammates forced to work around a leader who cannot see the problem is… themselves.

Few traits derail an organization faster than a leader who lacks self-awareness. And few traits unlock a company’s next stage of growth faster than a leader who has it.

The irony?

Most leaders think they’re self-aware. Very few actually are.

Research shows only a small percentage of people exhibit true self-awareness, and self-evaluations often correlate poorly with how others see us. The gap is wide, and the consequences inside a growing MSP are significant.

If you want to scale—really scale—self-awareness isn’t optional. It’s foundational.

What Self-Awareness Actually Means in Leadership

Self-awareness isn’t soft, emotional, or abstract. It’s highly operational.

A self-aware leader understands:

• how their behavior impacts the people around them

• where they’re strong and where they’re weak

• how their decisions affect the wider organization

• how others experience them—not just how they experience themselves

• where their instincts help and where they hurt

It’s the ability to step back and see yourself with clarity instead of ego.

Inside an MSP, this clarity shapes everything: how you handle escalations, how you coach, how you prioritize, how you hire, and how you make decisions under pressure.

A leader who lacks self-awareness will unintentionally amplify stress, create confusion, and make poor decisions because they’re operating from assumptions instead of reality.

A leader who has it will elevate the performance of the entire organization.

Why Self-Awareness Determines MSP Success

When you lead an MSP, your decisions ripple through delivery, finance, culture, and team performance. That’s why the impact of self-awareness shows up everywhere:

1. Better decisions

Self-aware leaders understand how their biases shape judgment. They compensate for blind spots rather than defend them. This leads to better decisions around hiring, capacity planning, margins, and risk.

2. Accurate understanding of your role

As MSPs scale, the job of the leader evolves. Leaders without self-awareness keep doing work they should have delegated years ago—or over-delegate what requires their direction. Self-aware leaders know when to step in, when to step back, and how to create leverage instead of noise.

3. Realistic expectations

When leaders can’t see their limitations or the limitations of their team, they set goals that are either impossible or meaningless. Self-aware leaders plan realistically, and as a result, their teams trust them.

4. A relatable, grounded leadership presence

Teams follow leaders who are human—leaders who know their strengths, admit their weaknesses, and model growth. Self-awareness creates credibility. Credibility creates influence.

5. Clarity on how others see you

The most dangerous leaders are the ones who think they’re doing great while the team quietly suffers under their blind spots. Self-aware leaders close the gap between intention and impact.

Traits You’ll See in Self-Aware Leaders

After coaching MSP leaders for years, the same traits appear repeatedly in those who operate with high self-awareness:

• They notice the needs, emotions, and pressures of others

• They listen without defending

• They ask questions before offering solutions

• They adjust quickly when feedback reveals a blind spot

• They understand expectations from above

• They adapt their communication style to the situation

• They stay composed under pressure

• They recognize patterns in their own behavior

  
  

These leaders grow faster because they learn faster.

The Hard Part: How to Become More Self-Aware

Self-awareness is absolutely achievable, but it requires intention. Here are the most effective ways MSP leaders develop it:

1. Seek honest feedback from people you trust

Not people who tell you what you want to hear—people who tell you what you need to hear. Mentors, peers, and even former colleagues can provide insight you cannot get on your own.

2. Use structured assessments (like 360° reviews)

If your self-view doesn’t match how others experience you, that gap is the roadmap. The wider the gap, the bigger the opportunity.

3. Integrate performance feedback into your growth plan

The perspective of others matter. Align your personal development with the expectations of the role you’re in—and the role you want next.

4. Work with a leadership coach

A great coach doesn’t give you answers—they help you uncover patterns. They make your thinking visible. They hold you accountable when your blind spots get in the way.

5. Study your strengths as deeply as your weaknesses

Self-awareness isn’t just about diagnosing gaps. It’s about understanding where you create the most value so you can lead from strength instead of insecurity.

Why This Matters for MSPs Specifically

MSPs operate in high-pressure, fast-moving environments with little margin for leadership dysfunction. A single leader’s blind spot can cause:

• client churn

• margin erosion

• talent turnover

• culture decay

• operational chaos

• stalled growth

Technical skills won’t fix that. Strategy won’t fix that. Tools won’t fix that.

Self-awareness will.

As MSPs scale, the business outgrows leaders who fail to grow themselves. The ones who lean into self-awareness—who commit to honest reflection and measurable improvement—become the leaders that teams trust, clients respect, and organizations can build around.

Because at the end of the day: You cannot lead others effectively until you can see yourself clearly.