I found an interesting article on The Atlantic website that challenges the concept that we know ourselves better than other people know us. Adam Grant writes that your coworkers are likely better at rating some parts of your personality than you are. He starts off with:
"When Donald Trump tweeted that he was a 'very stable genius,' he was accused of lacking self-awareness by journalists and comedians. But the truth is that no one has perfect self-awareness—you probably believe more than a few things about yourself that are false."
He goes on to explain through 16 studies that "thousands of people at work have shown that people’s coworkers are better than they are at recognizing how their personality will affect their job performance." He asserts that job performance is better evaluated through others than in our own minds. He finishes with three insights to increase self-awareness that he has picked up along the way.
However, I'd like to add a fourth: Take a science-based self-assessment like the ones I use frequently from TTI SI. I personally find that leaders benefit greatly from a TriMetrix EQ assessment. This one combines behavioral style, Driving Forces (motivational style) and Emotional Intelligence (EQ). It covers everything from communication style, decision-making, your key motivators to the five measurements of EQ. For most leaders of organizations this assessment is a game-changer and they will never look at their people the same way.
For the full article from Adam Grant: People Don't Actually Know Themselves Very Well