Becoming A Self-Reflected Leader
One of your toughest challenges as a leader is dealing with complex issues. But before you tackle those external matters, you should take care of yourself first. If your problems are causing a distraction and making it hard for you to focus on solving other people’s troubles, then there won’t be any progress made in the end.
Taking some time away from the problem you are trying to solve and looking at it from an outside perspective is essential. Only then can you see the whole picture and develop creative solutions. This process of self-reflection can be difficult, but it is necessary for effective leadership.
Let’s examine why leaders need to take time for self-reflection and how they can do it.
The Benefits of Self-Reflection
The most immediate benefit of taking time for self-reflection is clarity. It can often be hard to think objectively when you are too close to the problem, so stepping back allows you to gain valuable insight into how best to approach the situation. Furthermore, it will enable you to see things from different angles and consider alternatives that may not have been apparent. This flexibility in thinking allows you to tackle problems more effectively and come up with innovative solutions that others may not have considered.
Reflecting on your actions also helps leaders make better decisions in the future by allowing them to recognize patterns in their behavior and thought processes. It can also benefit personal development; reflecting on your strengths and weaknesses as a leader will enable you to develop your skills further and become an even more effective leader.
Taking Time for Self-Reflection
So, now that we understand why reflection is critical, let’s talk about how we can make sure we are carving out enough time for it in our lives. The first step is setting boundaries—make sure you set aside time each week to commit solely to reflection. Find activities encouraging self-reflection, such as journaling or reading books related to leadership topics. Make sure they are part of your weekly routine so that they become second nature over time. Utilize this time wisely by focusing on specific areas of improvement or goals you want to achieve; this will help keep you focused during your reflection sessions, ultimately leading to greater success.
Leadership requires much more than just problem-solving; successful leaders must also take time away from their work and reflect on their decisions and actions if they truly want their team (and themselves) to succeed over time. By taking regular breaks for reflective thinking, leaders will be able to give themselves clarity of mind while gaining valuable insight into their decision-making processes, allowing them to build better strategies in the future.
How To Self-Reflect
Self-reflection can be broken into two categories…your successes and improvements. First, take time to think through and write down your wins. Then, celebrate the things that went well and figure out why they went well. Studying your success is just as important as studying your failures. If you don’t know why you succeeded, how will you know how to repeat it?
Also, take time to reflect on the areas you want to improve in. Assess the things you didn’t think went well and how you can improve. Too often, we feel something didn’t go well, but we fail to take the time to challenge ourselves to improve for the next time.
Here is a list of some example questions to ask yourself when self-reflecting.
- What went well this day/week?
- What didn’t go well?
- What could I have done differently?
- What am I most proud of?
As I mentioned earlier, self-reflection and journaling are great tools for improving your leadership skills. They can help you gain insights into yourself and how you interact with others, identify areas of improvement, and take action to become a better leader. By setting aside time to self-reflect and journal each week, you can continually improve your leadership skills and become the best leader you can be.
Don’t forget—take a step back every once in a while! Your team will thank you later!
