As we welcome 2023, most of us probably have the urge to reflect not only on what happened in the past years but what we can do better in the future. Like me, you might just come back from holidays and start to work on plans, goals and strategies to get to where you want to be.
The new year provides a time for some self-reflection and I believe is not only important but beneficial for leaders and their team.
Great leaders know that it is important to have a habit of self-reflection and mindfulness. This is not necessarily a once a year activity and best done on a regular basis (weekly or at least monthly)
What is Self-Reflection?
Self-reflection is the ability to witness and evaluate our own cognitive, emotional, and behavioral processes. In psychology, other terms used for this self-observation include 'reflective awareness', and 'reflective consciousness', which originate from the work of William James according to Wikipedia.
It is about understanding who you are, what your values are and why you think, feel and act the way you do. When you are self-aware, it helps you develop and improve yourself. Reflection also helps leaders to evaluate what works and what doesn’t for their team. This enables leaders to welcome individuals along with their differences, uniqueness and influence growth within the team.
Why is Reflection Important & What are the Benefits of Self-Reflection?
Without self-reflection, we simply go through life without thinking, analyzing and evaluating what is going well and what isn’t working.
Because not everything we do are conscious, here’s an interesting video that explains Why Introspection matters
Here are Benefit of Self Reflection:
It Allows You To Gain Perspective (Self-Awareness and What matters to you)
It Helps You Respond More Effectively (Mental Wellbeing)
It Promotes Learning and Understanding of Ourselves and Others
Develop critical thinking skills
Identify what your people needs from you
How Great Leaders Reflect And What Are The Top 8 Questions They Ask?
Reflecting on past performance gives you a foundation to plan for your future development. When planning for the future, individual and team reflection helps leadership teams integrate qualitative performance into their annual and long-term assessments, not just quantitative benchmarks.
Reflecting is basically setting space and time of silence to ask yourself important questions, here are the top 8 questions we believe will be helpful to ask:
What did we do well in the past? What strengths did help to accomplish it?
What am I grateful for?
Where am I feeling challenged? What keeps me awake at night?
What similar issues keep coming up? What options are available?
What are my opportunities for learning and growth?
How do we move forward? What support will matter to me and my team?
How do I want to show up for my team? What impact are we creating?
What does success look like? How do we measure success?
Answer some of this questions in our 2023 Leadership Survey and gain a free access to our online resources.
As you continue your commitment to show up, lead yourself and others, remember to do self-reflection as a habit to give yourself not only better perspective in life but to give yourself honor, possibilities and appreciate what you have.
Find out more how we can help your HR and Leaders through training, coaching and consulting. Schedule a free 30 minute call now!
More Resources and References on Self-Reflection:
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