A high level of self-awareness is long acknowledged as contributing to career success and effective leadership. New research from the Korn Ferry Institute shows that it also correlates with corporate performance. Using Korn Ferry’s ProSpective Assessment, we examined 6,977 self-assessments to identify “blind spots” in individuals’ leadership characteristics and compared these results against financial data of 486 publicly traded companies.

The analysis revealed companies with a higher rate of return (ROR) also employ professionals who exhibit higher levels of self-awareness. Stock performance was tracked over thirty months, during which the companies with the greater percentage of self-aware employees consistently outperformed the rest. Despite its close association with high performance, self-awareness is generally in short supply, but can be developed in leaders.