“You are very sick. Are you under a lot of stress?” The doctor leaned over my hospital bed, waiting for my reply. I responded, “I don’t think so.” At 28 years old, I had in six months time lost my grandmother, with whom I was very close, and my father-in-law, who died in our home. The mother of two toddlers, I was caregiver for my mother-in-law through her aortic bypass. I was in graduate school while teaching full time. My husband’s health was failing and we were losing his business. That’s when I was hospitalized. I needed a reality check. Self-awareness is an essential leadership competency. I was not self-aware…