CUI
Social Awareness and Influence
Assessment
Feedback Report
SGT Dominic Arbino
2 MAY 2022
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Controlled by: DA
Controlled by: CAPL
CUI Category: PRVCY
Limited Dissemination Control: FEDCON
POC: usarmy.leavenworth.tradoc.mbx.capl@mail.mil
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The Importance of Social Awareness and Influence
Social awareness is the process you follow to perceive, analyze, and evaluate social interaction. Being able
to adjust your behavior to adapt to the situation will help you be more effective with others. Social awareness
involves:
Awareness of yourself, e.g., what you value or what your own goals are.
Awareness of others, e.g., what their needs are and how they perceive you.
Awareness of the situation, e.g., conditions such as conventions in a particular situation like formal or
informal courtesies or what the cultural norms are.
Influence is central to leadership. Influence is how one shapes what others think and do. Influence is how
leaders energize others and get things done through others. Influence goes beyond what a superior does to
direct subordinates. Influence also applies to a subordinate eliciting the help of peers or persuading a superior
to adopt a point of view or agree to an action.
Your ability to influence others is directly related to your social awareness. The more aware you are of
yourself, others, and the situation, the better prepared you will be to effectively influence. Socially aware
leaders are perceptive, adaptive, self-aware, and authentic. They understand how they come across to
others, are able to interpret situational cues and context, and capable of adapting their behavior and
approaches to fit the situation at hand. Leaders that acknowledge the importance and relevance of social
awareness will more successfully influence others.
How can this assessment and feedback report help you?
This Social Awareness and Influence Assessment (SAIA) provides insight into your social awareness and
influence tendencies. You can use your scores from this assessment to better understand how you relate to
others and your influence ability. Your self-assessment could accurately reflect how others see you or show
you that others may see you differently.
This feedback report presents your results, from your perspective, based on your honest responses. Your
results are confidential. You maintain the right to share this information with whomever you wish. In addition to
your scores, this report also includes self-development tips and resources.
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Feedback Report
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SGT Dominic Arbino
CENTER FOR THE ARMY PROFESSION & LEADERSHIP
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Social Awareness
Your score on the Social Awareness scale is 30. Your score falls into the Unskilled range. Scores can range
from 10 to 50 points.
Your percentile rank on the Social Awareness scale is 5. This means that you scored higher than 5% of Army
leaders who took this assessment. Remember the score represents your judgments about your behaviors
and is compared to all others individual judgments. The measure is not a direct comparison to others’
abilities.
10
20
30
Unskilled
40
Moderately Skilled
50
Very Skilled
You see yourself as relatively unskilled in social situations and generally have difficulty understanding the
motives and emotions of others. You have indicated a lack of confidence in your ability to read facial
expressions and body language and you may have a hard time understanding what others think about you.
By gaining some additional experience in this area, you may be able to improve your effectiveness in
interacting with others.
Influence
Your score on the influence scale is 34. Your score falls into the Moderately Effective Influencer range. Scores
can range from 10 to 50 points.
Your percentile rank on the influence scale is 21. This means that you scored higher than 21% of Army
leaders who took this assessment. Remember the score represents your judgments about your behaviors
and is compared to all others individual judgments. The measure is not a direct comparison to others’
abilities.
10
20
30
Poor Influencer
40
Moderately Effective
Influencer
50
Skilled Influencer
You see yourself as a moderately effective influencer and negotiator. You are sometimes able to get others to
agree to carry out requests and favors, though other times you may meet with resistance. You are moderately
confident in your ability to persuade others, but could probably benefit from increased training and experience
in this area. You can improve your knowledge and skills to become a more effective influencer.
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Feedback Report
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SGT Dominic Arbino
CENTER FOR THE ARMY PROFESSION & LEADERSHIP
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What Now – How to Improve?
Now that you have completed the SAIA, take some time to think about both your influence and social
awareness scores. Trends indicate that individuals who score well in influence, also score well in social
awareness. Was that the case for you? Were you surprised by your scores? If you asked your superiors,
peers, or subordinates about your social awareness and influence skills, would their feedback be consistent
with your self-assessment results? Some individuals might score higher on one dimension than the other.
Was that the case for you? If so, knowing where you have room for improvement will help you isolate specific
behaviors to start developing. An effective influencer gets results by understanding others, building
relationships today, and preserving relationships for tomorrow. Regardless of where you fall on the social
awareness and influence scales, there is always room to improve. Even the highest scorers can develop
greater sophistication in how to work with others.
The Army defines leadership as the activity of
influencing people by providing purpose,
direction, and motivation to accomplish the
mission and improve the organization (ADP 622). Effective leadership blends core leader
competencies (groups of related leader
behaviors)
with
leadership
attributes
(characteristics inherent to the leader). When
attempting to influence others, a number of
competencies are applicable to your success.
These include, but are not limited to, Leads
Others, Builds Trust, Extends Influence, and
Prepares Self. With respect to being a socially
aware leader, important competencies include,
but are not limited to, Communicates, Leads by
Example, and Creates a Positive Environment.
Within each of the Army Leadership Requirements Model competencies, there are a number of behaviors you
can develop to improve your social awareness and influence abilities. On the pages that follow, a few of these
behaviors are described in more detail. As you review each behavior, reflect on your SAIA scores, as well as
your own experiences as a leader. Think about those times when your actions resembled those of a skilled
influencer, as all as those of a poor influencer. Reflect on any situations when you made an effort to be
socially aware, as well as those situations when you did not. Self-aware leaders are honest about those times
when they were successful, as well as recognize those times when they could have done things differently. At
the end of each behavior, review the recommended actions and consider what steps you can start taking to
improve. Also, you are encouraged to review the Additional Resources section at the end of this feedback
report for additional self-development opportunities.
SAIA
Feedback Report
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SGT Dominic Arbino
CENTER FOR THE ARMY PROFESSION & LEADERSHIP
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How to Improve Your Influence Skills
Your ability to influence others, both inside and outside your chain of command, is critical to your success as
a leader. On a regular basis, your words and actions motivate, persuade, and direct others to carry out a
variety of tasks, duties, and missions.
FM 6-22 describes a number of behaviors directly related to a leader's influence abilities. Such behaviors
include, but are not limited to, Using Appropriate Methods of Influence to Energize Others; Providing Purpose,
Motivation, and Inspiration to Others; Setting Personal Examples for Trust; Taking Direct Action to Build Trust;
Understanding Sphere, Means, and Limits of Influence; and Negotiating, Building Consensus, and Resolving
Conflict. Review some details from a few of these behaviors in the following sections. As you do so, think
about your SAIA scores and your own experiences. When have your actions reflected those of a skilled
influencer, or a poor influencer?
How well do you Use Appropriate Methods of Influence to Energize Others?
This behavior resides within the Leads Others competency of the Army Leadership Requirements Model.
You, as an Army leader, can draw on a variety of techniques to influence others. Specific techniques for
influence include: pressure, legitimating, exchange, personal appeals, collaboration, rational persuasion,
apprising, inspiration appeals, and participation (see ADP 6-22 for additional information). A socially aware
influencer will determine the proper technique based on the situation and individuals being influenced.
A skilled influencer will…
Assess the situation and determine the best influence technique based on the audience, intent, and
context of the situation.
Anticipate and prepare for triggers (individuals, tasks, groups, traditions, unfamiliar topics, etc.) that
might affect their ability to influence others.
Rely on pressure as an influence technique only when the stakes are high, time is short, and other
attempts have not been successful.
A poor influencer will…
Rely on a single or limited number of influence techniques for all situations, regardless of the
situation or the individuals being influenced.
Use coercion and/or manipulate the situation to influence others.
Have subordinates commonly return several times to clarify what needs to be done.
Focus on personal gain and accomplishment rather than doing what is right for the Army and the
unit.
Review the actions below to help you further develop your influence skills.
Review the influence techniques outlined in ADP 6-22. Identify those where you are strong and
those where you struggle, and situations where each is effective.
Observe and analyze different ways to improve your social awareness of others, noting what seems
to be most effective for different tasks, situations, and individuals.
Improve your social awareness by considering the everyday stresses, obligations, interests, values,
and dispositions of those you are trying to influence. Purposefully choose influence techniques to
produce the best results given the circumstances.
SAIA
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Feedback Report
SGT Dominic Arbino
CENTER FOR THE ARMY PROFESSION & LEADERSHIP
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Go to the CAPL website and view the following Interactive Media Instructions
(https://capl.army.mil/imi/)
Making Influence Count
Motivating Through Rewards.
Enabling Subordinates Using Mission-Focused Delegation.
How well do you Set the Personal Example for Trust?
This behavior resides within the Builds Trust competency of the Army Leadership Requirements Model. A
leader’s ability to influence is directly related to the trust they’ve built with others. A skilled influencer will use
their actions and behaviors to demonstrate the importance of trust. Setting a personal example inspires those
around them to act in the same manner.
A skilled influencer will…
Follow through on commitments and promises.
Tell the truth, even if it is unpopular or difficult.
Admit when they make mistakes.
Show respect for others, at all times.
Act with great integrity and character, always behaving in accordance with Army values.
A poor influencer will…
Display actions that are often inconsistent with their words.
Blame others for their own mistakes.
Make unrealistic promises, or don’t keep promises.
Violate confidences made with others.
Gossip or criticize others behind their back.
Review the actions below to help you further develop your influence skills.
Observe and study your own behavior. Be objective. Do you treat others equitably and fairly? Do you
have favorites? Are you socially aware? Be honest.
Observe the behaviors of other leaders who you think are trustworthy. What do they do to build and
maintain trust? Make a list of those behaviors you want to model.
Be consistent in how you carry out processes and procedures so that actions remain the same
across people and over time.
Avoid making judgements or decisions until you’re certain you know the facts. Don’t rely on
assumptions.
Go to the CAPL website to view the following Interactive Media Instructions
(https://capl.army.mil/imi/)
Building Working Relationships Across Boundaries.
Building Trust.
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Feedback Report
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SGT Dominic Arbino
CENTER FOR THE ARMY PROFESSION & LEADERSHIP
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How well do you Negotiate, Build Consensus, and Resolve Conflict?
This behavior resides within the Extends Influence competency of the Army Leadership Requirements Model.
Your ability to influence others, both inside and outside your chain of command, is critical to your success as
a leader. On a regular basis, your words and actions motivate, persuade, and direct others to carry out a
variety of missions. Proactively involving partners opens communication and helps you to work through
controversy in a positive and productive way. Building consensus through sharing ideas and seeking common
ground helps overcome resistance to an idea or plan.
A skilled influencer will…
Take time to identify individual and group positions, as well as needs.
See conflict as an opportunity for shared understanding.
Facilitate understanding of conflicting positions, as well as possible solutions.
Make an effort to collaborate when solving problems in ways acceptable to all parties.
Build consensus by ensuring that all team members are heard.
A poor influencer will…
Use the same influence technique in every situation.
Negotiate with others without recognizing their priorities or interests.
Rely on extreme techniques, such as being too hard or soft when resolving conflict.
Focus on the negative aspects of others’ interests.
Review the actions below to help you further develop your influence skills.
Seek feedback from your peers on your ability to actively listen, present information clearly, and your
social awareness to cultural factors.
When in a discussion with individuals with differing opinions, practice asking questions likely to result
in compromise, such as “What points can we agree upon?” or “ What is most important to you and
what can you concede on?”
Anticipate problem areas in complex situations.
Go to the CAPL website to view the following Interactive Media Instructions
(https://capl.army.mil/imi/)
Extending Influence during Negotiation.
Managing Conflict.
Navigating Contentious Conversations.
Managing Difficult Behavior.
Remember, these are just a few of the many leadership behaviors related to influence. Your ability to energize
others and get them to carry out what is necessary is critical to your success as a leader. You are encouraged
to review ADP 6-22 and FM 6-22 for additional information, review the Additional Resources section at the
end of this feedback report, as well as seek out your own self-development resources.
SAIA
Feedback Report
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SGT Dominic Arbino
CENTER FOR THE ARMY PROFESSION & LEADERSHIP
CUI
How to Improve Your Social Awareness
Your ability to influence others is directly related to your social awareness. The more aware you are of
yourself, others, and the situation, the better prepared you will be to effectively influence. The key to building
social awareness skills is to actively and empathetically listen to other people with whom you are building a
working relationship. This is important in all situations, especially when working across boundaries (e.g.,
ranks, cultures, units, ethnicities, etc.). Boundaries increase the complexity of the interaction and the potential
for misunderstanding to occur. Note that leaders rarely get feedback when they are misunderstood. Leaders
are more likely to get feedback when they are not understood at all.
FM 6-22 describes a number of behaviors directly related to a leader’s social awareness skills. Such
behaviors include, but are not limited to, Listens Actively, Sensitive to Cultural Factors in Communication,
Maintains Relevant Cultural Awareness, Displays Empathy, and Demonstrates Care for Follower Well-being.
Review some details from a few of these behaviors in the following sections. As you do so, think about your
SAIA scores and your own experiences. When have your actions reflected those of an influencer who is
socially aware, or one who is not socially aware?
How well do you Listen Actively?
This behavior resides within the Communicates competency of the Army Leadership Requirements Model.
When you actively listen, you comprehend the speaker’s thoughts and internalize their message. Active
listeners have a number of things to pay attention to, such as verbal cues, non-verbal cues, the content of the
message, the urgency of the message, and the emotion of the speaker. Successful active listeners remain
aware of common themes that occur with a speaker, notice inconsistencies in the message, and pick up on
topics that are avoided. Socially aware influencers invest significant effort in letting their audience know they
are actively engaged in the conversation.
A leader who is socially aware will…
Pay attention to nonverbal cues.
Ask questions to clarify meaning when the speaker's point is not understood.
Maintain eye contact.
Restate or rephrase the message so the audience has a chance to hear how the message was
received.
A leader who is NOT socially aware will…
Interrupt to provide their own opinions and decisions.
Get distracted by anger or disagreement with the speaker.
Only acknowledge details that support their opinion, and ignore contrary points.
Tell people what they should say or think.
Check their mobile device or continue to type on the computer during conversations.
Review the actions below to help you further develop your social awareness skills.
Paraphrase what the speaker said before you respond. Use wording such as “So what you’re saying
is…”
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SGT Dominic Arbino
CENTER FOR THE ARMY PROFESSION & LEADERSHIP
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Learn what behaviors limit active listening. Consider how often you say things such as “Yes, but…”
or “Let’s get to the point.” These types of behaviors communicate an unwillingness to listen and limit
conversation.
Employ verbal prompts, such as “Yes…”, “Go on…”, and “Tell me more…” and nonverbal prompts,
such as nodding your head, leaning toward the other person, and making eye contact to encourage
the other person to talk.
Go to the CAPL website to view the following Interactive Media Instructions
(https://capl.army.mil/imi/)
Achieving Shared Understanding.
The Art of Asking Questions.
Are you Sensitive to Cultural Factors in Communication?
This behavior resides within the Communicates competency of the Army Leadership Requirements Model.
Your social awareness skills are directly related to your understanding of the different cultures you will work
with, as well as your ability to influence individuals both inside and outside your chain of command. Military
leaders are responsible for leading ethnically and culturally diverse organizations. The better equipped you
are to understand a variety of individuals, the more effective your influence attempts will be.
A leader who is socially aware will…
Research other cultures, understand how cultural differences affect influence attempts, and actively
work to adapt accordingly.
Maintain a broad awareness of communication customs, expressions, and behaviors.
Demonstrate respect for others regardless of their culture, race, or ethnicity.
Recognize triggers (words, actions, or statements) that may cause an emotional response from
others.
A leader who is NOT socially aware will…
Stereotype and generalize about individuals based on their culture, race, or ethnicity.
Avoid situations where interacting with other cultures is necessary.
Assume that individuals from other cultures have the same values, priorities, and views as they do.
Push personal beliefs onto an individual from a different culture, race, or ethnicity.
Review the actions below to help you further develop your social awareness skills.
Make a genuine effort to communicate with an individual from another culture by learning and using
culturally correct communication, greetings, behaviors, and patterns. Ask for feedback to understand
their interpretation of your behavior.
Observe and assess how others with extensive cross-cultural communication experience conduct
themselves when communicating across cultures. Look for attitudes, behaviors, and influence
methods you can adopt.
Make a personal inventory of your own biases. Note how each impacts your social awareness and
ability to influence. Create and implement actionable steps to reduce.
Go to the CAPL website to view the following Interactive Media Instructions
(https://capl.army.mil/imi/)
Seeking and Incorporating Diverse Ideas.
Building Working Relationships Across Boundaries.
SAIA
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Feedback Report
SGT Dominic Arbino
CENTER FOR THE ARMY PROFESSION & LEADERSHIP
CUI
How well do you Display Empathy?
This behavior resides within the Leads by Example competency of the Army Leadership Requirements
Model. Empathetic leaders are able to share and understand someone else’s feelings. Empathy can allow
leaders to understand how their actions will make others feel and react. A socially aware leader is able to see
things from another’s perspective and understand those they intend to influence.
A leader who is socially aware will
Pick up on the emotional cues of others.
React appropriately to others’ emotional states.
Show compassion when others are distressed.
Demonstrate an ability to establish good rapport.
A leader who is NOT socially aware will…
Fail to show concern for others’ emotional distress.
Display an inability to take another’s perspective.
Maintain an ego-centric viewpoint in decision making.
Dehumanize enemy combatants or local populace.
Review the actions below to help you further develop your social awareness skills.
Select a role model, study their interactions with others. Note how they use empathy in their
influence attempts.
Study and learn nonverbal cues that can help to indicate a person’s emotional state.
Practice taking perspectives of different people (such as that of a local leader, coalition ally
adversary, different military specialty, peers, or subordinates). Imagine what their
assumptions/preferences would be so you can understand their issues.
Go to the CAPL website to view the following Interactive Media Instructions
(https://capl.army.mil/imi/)
Beyond People Skills: Leveraging Your Understanding of Others.
Seeking and Delivering Face to Face Feedback.
Remember, these are just a few of the many leadership behaviors related to social awareness. The more
aware you are of yourself, others, and the situation, the better prepared you will be to effectively influence.
You are encouraged to review ADP 6-22 and FM 6-22 for additional information, review the Additional
Resources section at the end of this feedback report, as well as seek out your own self-development
resources.
SAIA
Feedback Report
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SGT Dominic Arbino
CENTER FOR THE ARMY PROFESSION & LEADERSHIP
CUI
Additional Resources
These are additional resources for you to use as you grow and develop as an Army leader.
Center for the Army Profession and Leadership (CAPL) website
The CAPL website provides access to a number of Army leadership resources and tools, such as
doctrine, training materials, developmental guides, case studies, and much more. Access the CAPL
website at https://capl.army.mil/.
Leader Development Improvement Guide (LDIG)
The LDIG provides Army leaders at all levels with ideas and activities for professional growth,
development, and continuous learning. The LDIG helps you design customized developmental activities
tailored to your particular needs as a leader. Access the LDIG at https://capl.army.mil/.
Project Athena Leader Self-Development Tool
Designed to support the Project Athena assessments program, the online tool links individuals to more
than 500 leadership resources to support individual development needs, and also provides a platform to
integrate and take action on assessment results. Access this tool at https://capl.army.mil/.
Multi Source Assessments (Leader 180, Leader 360)
Multi Source assessments promote leader development by providing honest feedback about strengths
and developmental needs. You assess your own abilities, and then compare those results to feedback
from others about their observations of your leadership behaviors.
ADP 6-22 – Army Leadership and the Profession
ADP 6-22 establishes and describes the Army Profession and the foundations of Army Leadership, and
describes the attributes and core leader competencies expected of all leaders across all levels and
cohorts.
FM 6-22 – Leader Development
FM 6-22 provides a doctrinal framework covering methods for leaders to develop other leaders, improve
their organizations, build teams, and develop themselves. Chapter 7 provides developmental activities
in support of several leadership competencies.
LeaderMap App
CAPL offers a free app that covers a variety of leader development topics, such as, how to develop selfawareness, building cohesive and resilient teams, developing others, and more. Access the app on
Android and Apple devices by going to the device’s app store or on a Windows-based computer
(https://go.usa.gov/xcyeF).
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Feedback Report
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SGT Dominic Arbino