Have you ever noticed that the further you get to the top, the harder it is to take time out to pause, reflect and make time for your own development?
Over the last two years I’ve had the privilege to witness and support a number of great leaders as they step up to the challenge of the pandemic. At times they have described feeling powerful. At others, vulnerable and exposed amidst the chaos. Their leadership skills have been tested to the limit.
Yet one of the biggest challenges for each - before starting coaching - has been the ability on their own, to take time out to pause, reflect and consolidate what they’ve learned.
The irony is that every one of these leaders genuinely aspire to lead ‘learning organisations’; and actively advocate for, fund and give time to their team to focus on professional development. They recognise that (as Jack Welch, the former CEO of General Electric famously stated) a businesses “ability to learn and translate that learning into action, rapidly is the ultimate competitive advantage”.
Yet, outside of formally required corporate training, time for those at the top to focus on their own personal learning and development is often slim. Critical decisions, meeting with stakeholders, strategy days, responding to always urgent email, attending in-company meetings and events; it’s all relentless. And what gets in the way most often, in between this relentless action, is real time to stop and think.
Learning doesn’t happen on its own as a result of an experience. We learn by reflecting on our actions. Yet when leadership time is dominated by action, the balance wavers. And often it’s reflection time that sidelined.
“Acting alone is thoughtless - we have seen enough of the consequences of that - just as reflecting alone is passive. Both are critical. But today, one - reflection - gets lost.”
Henry Mintzberg & Jonathan Gosling
If both action and reflection really are critical it leads to a few questions:
How is your time balanced between action and reflection? If there were no obstacles, what would you like it to be?
Boosting leadership reflection time
Building reflection into your leadership MO can happen in many ways. It can be a simple one minute practice, after an important event or at the end of the day.
Periodically, after a major transition or crisis, you may want to spend a little longer. And after leading through two years of reaction, response and recovery, as we enter a fresh year, is it worth an hour of your time to assess how far you have come as a leader?
If the answer is yes, here are seven questions to consider:
What are the most significant things I have learned over the last two years?
What were my emotional highlights and lowlights?
Where did I feel ‘in my leadership zone’ and where did I feel vulnerable?
The main strengths of my leadership were…
The main weaknesses of my leadership were…
Where did I make excuses for something I should have taken responsibility for?
How can I make sure I am better prepared for challenging leadership experiences in the future?
It leaves me to ask one final question. If you’re serious about inspiring a learning organisation, when will your time for reflection be?
If you’re not sure or need some help getting perspective, send a quick note to me at rebecca@rebeccajjackson.com and I’ll help you figure it out. You'll be amazed at how much more confident you feel to embrace the year ahead.
Meantime, thanks for reading this. If you found it thought provoking, please share it with someone you know.
With thanks,
Rebecca