How to read the air

In Japanese, "read the air" (空気を読む or kūki o yomu) refers to an ability to understand social cues and unspoken feelings without needing explicit communication.

It’s a kind of heightened situational awareness.

While we have “reading the room” in English, the Japanese version feels more profound to me.
After all, much of what we see or think about others is based on our own filters, from our current mood to our past experiences.

To me, reading the air isn’t just about reading others. It also requires knowing yourself: your strengths and weaknesses, your habits, what you’re experiencing in the moment.

It’s a kind of heightened self-awareness.

This combination of self-awareness with situational awareness is at the heart of WOL Strengths, an 8-week peer development program for bringing your CliftonStrengths to life.

In the first four weeks, you gain insights into your own Strengths and shadows, and those of your Circle, and how they show up in your work and life.

In the next four weeks, you and your Circle practice, moving week by week from insight to experiment to behavior change.

“Read the Air” is the title of Week 6 in WOL Strengths. Over time, you cultivate self-awareness and situational awareness and put that into practice.

I believe these are skills anyone can develop, and i think they’re more important than ever.

What do you think?

Reading the air as a way of navigating through life. (Photo credit: www.visitalbuquerque.org)