"Man can be deprived of everything but one thing, the last of human freedoms - the choice of one's own attitude in given circumstances, the choice of one's own path." - Viktor E.

In moments of greatest adversity, questions arise about the meaning of suffering. Can suffering teach me something? Can the limitations imposed on me by life become the seed of positive change?

Suffering makes us start looking for solutions, escape or even a change of position. When your leg hurts while bending, don't you automatically change position and straighten the painful limb? This is nothing more than the very beginning of transformation and change. It can be the same at the level of our psyche.

As a leader on a daily basis with haemophilia (a serious genetic disease - a blood clotting disorder that causes me to experience prolonged bleeding), these questions have been with me for years in both my personal and professional life

Everyday life with Haemophilia includes pain, sudden strokes, frustration, movement restrictions, arthropathy, joint stiffness (especially in winter), complications from concomitant diseases or intravenous drug administration a minimum of 104 times a year

My first stroke occurred shortly after I turned one. When I was a child, my parents fought a constant battle for my health and our lives consisted of constant hospital visits. There were so many that, when I think about them now, they all merge into one.

For a long time, I treated my condition exclusively as a burden, something that set me apart from others and could theoretically stop my development. Over time, however, I discovered the paradox in the fact that suffering can become a teacher and even a gift if we consciously choose our attitude towards it.

Today I would like to tell you about my journey from seeing illness as a limitation to discovering in it a source of exceptional leadership competence. I will show how personal suffering can become a foundation for empathy and provide practical tips on how to turn your own challenges into a transformative force

It is a great pleasure to welcome you to the next episode of the Leadership in the Age of AI podcast, where we will explore the fundamental leadership competency - self-awareness. This is where other critically important skills such as communication and building trust come from.

When metrics, business goals, and efficiency discussions dominate our meetings, self-awareness often takes a back seat. Perhaps because of a lack of time or an unwillingness to look inward.

But stop for a moment and think about the last time you felt frustrated during a team meeting. Did you ever think about where that emotion really came from? What exactly upset you? And most importantly, did your team sense what was going on with you, even though you tried to hide it behind a professional facade?

Ask yourself other honest questions, such as

Do I really understand why I react emotionally to constructive criticism?

Or why some team members immediately make me feel tense or resentful? Why am I reluctant to delegate tasks, or, on the contrary, why do I give up control so easily?

The truth is that most leaders dramatically overestimate their self-awareness. Research shows that while 95% of leaders believe they know themselves well, only 10-15% actually do. This gap costs companies millions in lost productivity and increased turnover.

As leaders, we are adept at analyzing the market, the competition, and team performance, but in our day-to-day lives we forget to look at the most powerful tool we have - our own minds and their unconscious patterns.

In today's episode, I will tell you how a deep understanding of your own thinking style directly affects your success and that of your team. I will show you how unconscious reactions and behaviors can undermine your authority, even if you have great talent and competence. I will share proven diagnostic tools and present five practical steps to help you develop true self-awareness.

Thanks for listening!

Learn how to use the latest research in artificial intelligence to be an effective leader and strengthen your leadership skills. Discover four thinking strategies (revision, backtracking, goal decomposition, and backward reasoning) that support leadership development at every stage of your career. All in the context of neuroscience discoveries that suggest a properly trained mind stays sharp for many years-even in an environment of technological change.