Having done a fair amount of this recently, working on myself, it’s fair to say my own awareness of how well others are reflecting has been raised. I can see so many opportunities for us to get better at this both individually and in teams and so, why not capture a conversation around this idea of reflection.
If you’re anything like me you will jump from one thing to the next. From making a decision, to solving a problem, to developing a relationship, to coaching a leader, to teaching new skills. But, how often do you hit pause to reflect? It’s often not a leader habit for us. I do believe though that whilst great leadership does require action, it isn’t just about that—it’s also about introspection.
Reflection is a little bit like an invisible tool that sharpens decision-making, enhances emotional intelligence, and ensures that we keep growing.
In case you’re still not convinced this should be given your valuable time, here’s a list of reasons why it should…
Why Reflection Matters for Leaders
💡 Enhancing Self-Awareness
The best leaders know themselves well. Reflection helps uncover strengths, identify blind spots, and align actions with values—leading to more authentic and confident leadership.
How well would you say you know yourself? What don’t you know?
🧠 Sharpening Decision-Making
Every decision carries lessons. Reflecting on past choices—both wins and dare I say it ‘failures’—allows leaders to refine their approach and make smarter, more strategic moves in the future.
How does your decision making process bring in post reflection?
How well does this manifest into future decisions?
💬 Boosting Emotional Intelligence
Leadership is as much about people as it is about strategy. Reflection helps leaders recognise emotional triggers, improve communication, and lead with empathy. If you want to develop high performing team environments, this is a staple part.
How does empathy feature in your leadership style?
How is the balance between people and strategy in your leadership focus?
🚀 Driving Continuous Growth
The best leaders never stop learning. That doesn’t mean reading endless diaries of CEO’s. Regular reflection fosters a growth mindset, the more experiences you reflect upon, the greater the opportunity to evolve your leadership.
When was the last time you purposefully reflected on an experience/event/situation?
How would you describe the quality of that reflective activity?
I can’t imagine if I asked anyone in a senior leadership position they would say they didn’t understand that value of reflection, that it wasn’t important for them and also that they were accessing it in some shape or form. In my experience though, we’re not all great at this. Maybe we have just never learned how to go about this skill, maybe we just never built it into our routines because there’s so much to do. Whatever the reason it’s worth considering how we might get more of this going in support of developing our leadership capabilities.
Here’s some thoughts on ways you could go about this…
Practical Ways for Leaders to Integrate Reflection
🕰️ Schedule Time for Reflection
The most effective leaders probably don’t leave reflection to chance. Seems obvious doesn’t it, but if you look at your diary, it may be difficult to see when this will happen. Whether it’s a 10-minute morning habit or an end-of-week review, consistency is going to be key here.
How would you describe your current reflection habits?
What quality do they bring to developing you as a leader?
🔍 Ask the Right Questions
Powerful questions guide meaningful reflection. The same idea as coaching someone else, you are effectively coaching yourself. Try this stack of 3 taken from Rolfes reflective model (2001):
- What – e.g. were my biggest leadership wins and challenges this week?
- So what – e.g. does that mean for the impact on my team and business?
- What now – e.g. lessons can I carry forward?
📝 Journaling
Writing down reflections helps clarify thinking and track personal growth. A simple Leadership journal can help to do this. I know I’ve started about 50 of these and have books everywhere, which can be a problem in itself as makes it hard to bring thoughts together. OneNote is useful for this (or so I’ve found)
When was the last entry into your leadership journal?
What lessons did you take from it?
🔄 Seek Outside Perspectives
Reflection doesn’t have to be you, on your own. Conversations with mentors or coaches are one way of coming at this. This can bring about fresh insights and uncover blind spots. I know I reflect differently when its conversational as opposed to journalling. A bit of both seems to work best for me.
How is your mentoring/coaching currently helping you to develop as a leader?
What is the difference in conversational vs solo reflection for you?
🧘 Practice Mindfulness (or getting presence)
Reflection isn’t just about thinking—it’s also about presence. Getting present, enables a different quality of thought, in my experience anyway. There are lots of practices like deep breathing, meditation, or simply disconnecting from distractions that you can work with. Finding what works for you is probably one way of looking at this. The ice bath seems to work well for me. It is very true that mindfulness can help leaders process experiences more effectively.
What are your go to mindfulness practices that enable you to get present?
How would you describe the difference in quality when you are truly present?
Surely it’s worth more focussed time, isn’t it
In the rush to lead in every aspect, it’s easy to overlook the power of reflection. But the most impactful leaders know that stepping back isn’t a delay—it’s a strategy, and one that can really pay off. By making reflection a habit, leaders can elevate self-awareness, refine decision-making, and inspire their teams.
A final couple of questions to help close this off, assuming you have read this in its entirety…
If you take 5 minutes now to reflect on this article, what do you really feel your level of opportunity is around bringing a reflective habit into your day?
What would be a first step to making that happen?