Creating Opportunities for Self-Reflection

The End-of-Day Reflection: Adding Value to Your Job and Personality In the fast-paced rhythm of modern life, it's easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of daily tasks, deadlines, and responsibilities. However, taking a moment at the end of each day to reflect on our actions and their impact can be a powerful practice for personal and professional growth. One simple yet profound question can guide this reflection: "What values have I added to my job and my personality today?" Adding Value to Your Job At the heart of every profession lies a set of core values: integrity, excellence, responsibility, and dedication. These values are not just abstract concepts; they are actionable principles that shape how we approach our work. By asking ourselves what value we've added to our job, we focus on more than just completing tasks. We consider the quality of our work, our contributions to team success, and our alignment with the organization's goals. Adding Value to Your Personality Our professional lives are intrinsically linked to our personal growth. The values we uphold at work can significantly influence our character and personality. Reflecting on how we have developed as individuals each day fosters continuous self-improvement and emotional intelligence. Key Considerations: 1. Self-Awareness: Have I gained insights into my strengths and areas for improvement? 2. Empathy and Compassion:*m Did I show understanding and care for others' perspectives and needs? 3. Resilience and Adaptability: How did I respond to challenges and changes? 4. Ethical Standards: Have I acted in alignment with my moral and ethical values? A Practical Example Consider the case of Rahul, a salesperson at a company that sells medical devices. Each day, Rahul takes a few minutes to reflect on his contributions and personal growth. One day, he realized that while he met his sales targets, he had focused more on closing deals than on understanding the specific needs of each healthcare provider he worked with. The next day, Rahul decided to change his approach. Instead of pushing for sales, he spent extra time with each client, asking detailed questions about their challenges and needs. He provided tailored solutions that better matched their requirements and followed up to ensure they were satisfied with their purchases. This not only helped him build stronger relationships with his clients but also increased his sales in the long run as clients appreciated his dedication and care. By reflecting on his actions, Rahul added value to his job by enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty, and to his personality by nurturing empathy, patience, and a service-oriented mindset. Conclusion By asking yourself, "What values have I added to my job and my personality today?" you engage in a powerful practice that fosters growth and fulfillment.

Reflection is one of the most powerful tools for growth. Yet, its so easy to overlook. I've always asked myself: What’s working? What isn’t? What can I do better? Make this happen: 1. Block Time: Put an hour on your calendar at the end of each month. Treat it as a non-negotiable meeting with yourself. 2. Ask the Right Questions: I use these prompts: • What were my biggest wins this month? • What challenges did I face, and how did I handle them? • What lessons did I learn? • Where did I spend my time, and was it aligned with my goals? • What do I want to do differently next month? 3. Write It Down: There’s something powerful about putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard). Documenting your thoughts helps clarify them and gives you something to review later. 4. Set Intentions: Based on your reflection, identify 2-3 priorities for the next month. Keep them actionable and specific. Reflection is about learning from your experiences. It’s about stepping back, recalibrating, and moving forward with intention.

You've just received feedback from your team, but something doesn't sit right. Their words clash with your self-image, leaving you feeling defensive and confused. Self-reflection isn't just introspection. It's the key to unlocking your leadership potential and fostering genuine connections. Let's explore why reflection matters and how to master this critical skill: Many leaders struggle with meaningful self-reflection because: • They're too busy "doing" to pause and process experiences. • They fear confronting personal weaknesses or mistakes. • They lack structured methods for effective reflection. This reflection deficit leads to: → Repeated mistakes and missed growth opportunities. → Disconnection from team members and their needs. → Stagnation in leadership development and effectiveness. Most people confuse a 5-minute journaling session with true reflection. I’m not saying short, sporadic attempts at journaling lack their merit, but they do lack the depth and consistency needed for real insight and change. So here are 3 Solutions to enhance reflective practice: 1. Implement a structured reflection routine: ↳ Set aside dedicated time daily or weekly for guided self-reflection exercises focused on recent experiences and interactions. 2. Utilize the "Consultant" perspective: ↳ Practice mentally stepping outside situations to observe yourself objectively, as if you were an external consultant. 3. Engage in reflective conversations: ↳ Regularly discuss your thoughts, actions, and their impacts with a trusted mentor or coach who can provide additional perspective. Mastering reflection is an ongoing process that transforms reactive leaders into thoughtful, adaptable visionaries. By committing to these practices, you'll develop deeper self-awareness, make more intentional decisions, and cultivate stronger connections with your team. Remember: The most profound leadership insights come from within. What’s stoping you from looking deeper? — P.S. Unlock 20 years' worth of leadership lessons sent straight to your inbox. Every Wednesday, I share exclusive insights and actionable tips on my newsletter. (Link in my bio to sign up). Remember, leaders succeed together.

Whether in my classes at Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management or when speaking to companies, organizations, and schools around the world, I’m often asked to explain one of my core principles: self-reflection. As I tell people, this principle is foundational to being a values-based leader because if we don’t know ourselves, we cannot possibly lead ourselves; and if we cannot lead ourselves, how can we lead others? Now, I’ll take it even a step further. Self-reflection is also the foundation of building a values-based legacy. A legacy is not a goal or aspiration to be put off for “one day”—after you’ve advanced in your career, after you’ve bought a house or had children, when you have more money, when you retire… A values-based legacy speaks to how you live your life—right here, right now. You strive to make a difference, whether that means supporting a cause or volunteering in your community. Small actions can make a big difference. (You can read more in my new book, Your Values-Based Legacy: Making a Difference at Every Age and Phase of Life.) This brings us back to self-reflection. By taking the time to block out the noise and distractions, we can focus on our own thoughts and feelings. We recall when and where we’ve given our time and talent in the past—perhaps volunteering at a soup kitchen or collecting for a food pantry. Maybe we mentored others, pitched in for a community project, or rolled up our sleeves to help clean up a neighborhood park. As we look back, how do those experiences inform and inspire us as we explore what we might do today? The more we self-reflect, the more we will connect the dots between our family influences, our own past experiences, and how and where we can build a legacy. But, Harry, who has time for all that? It’s a question I hear all the time. Some people believe that self-reflection involves a huge amount of time and work. To them I say, it only takes 15 minutes a day. I am not a morning person, so I do my reflection around midnight. I ask myself: What did I say I was going to do today? What did I do? What am I proud of? What am I not proud of? How did I lead people? How did I follow people? If I lived today over again, what would I have done differently? The last one is, if I have tomorrow—knowing full well that, sooner or later, I won’t have tomorrow—based on what I know today, how will I operate differently tomorrow?” This is all food for thought for the legacy you’re living and building today. Your Values-Based Legacy The more time I spend in self-reflection, the more I see just how fortunate and blessed I’ve been in my life. At the heart of even of those blessings are other people—family, friends, students, colleagues, and those who crossed my path each day. You can read the rest of my blog post at the link below. #valuesbasedleadership #valuesbasedlegacy #legacy https://wp.me/p4ONH1-3pC

The power of self-reflection is a transformative force that allows us to delve deep into our thoughts, feelings, and experiences, fostering personal growth and development. Furthermore, self-reflection fosters empathy and understanding towards other’s perspectives and experiences.   Some tips that have helped me on this journey:   Set Aside Time: Carving out dedicated time for self-reflection – Whether it's a few minutes each day or a longer period once a week, I try and commit to this practice regularly.   Create a Quiet Space: For me it’s in my backyard, but this could be a peaceful corner of your home, a park, or anywhere else that allows you to focus without interruption.   Ask Yourself Questions: I believe in using open-ended questions to guide my reflection process. Questions such as "What are my strengths and opportunity areas?" "What did I learn from recent experiences?" "What are my long-term goals?" These questions can help stimulate deeper introspection; I also make sure I revisit them on a regular basis.   Writing down thoughts and feelings: This can be a powerful tool for self-reflection which I personally found most difficult to follow, but I keep trying to get better at it, most recently I have started writing for 15 – 30 mins daily using journal on my phone/iPad. Initially I feel my writings didn’t make much sense, but I am getting better at it 😊   Practice Mindfulness: Deep breathing with my eyes closed help me focus on the present moment and observe my thoughts and emotions without judgment. Mindfulness can help develop a deeper understanding of ourselves and our experiences.   Seek Feedback: I strongly believe “Feedback is a Gift”, that being said I filter some of it to keep focus on what aligns to my purpose and goal (not forgetting the other feedback but just stacking them in order of what aligns more with my person purpose and goal). Being open to constructive criticism and using it as an opportunity for growth has helped me immensely and continues to do so.   Set Clear Goals: Using self-reflection to set meaningful goals for myself, considering what I want to achieve in various aspects of life and outline actionable steps to work towards those goals. This helps me break my larger goals into actionable items.     Celebrate Progress: Most of us enjoy being recognized and rewarded. Coming up with self-incentive plans and pausing to celebrate achievements keeps me moving ahead. My family constantly help me come up with creative ways to celebrate success and enjoy every small achievement with me, also keeping me honest on what I can do better to continue growing and evolving.   Remember, self-reflection is a journey, and it takes time and dedication to develop self-awareness and insight. Be patient with yourself and approach the process with kindness and compassion.

Reflection is an important part of the learning process A step that I ignored for a long time in my career. And I am not talking about "looking-off-into-the-distance" type reflection I am talking about sitting down for a few minutes each day or week Putting pen to paper and writing out your reflections. Building a habit of intentional reflection has been the greatest game changer for my career (well maybe being able to WFH a few days is up there too) When I work with people, I tell them I don't care what method you use to reflect--STAR method, PAR method, morning pages-- I just care that you are trying to write out your reflections In a hustle culture--we do a lot of the doing While keeping our minds occupied and busy (hello social media, which I am guilty of) Many of us don't spend time to sit with our thoughts Name our emotions from our experiences And leverage our reflections to move forward with action I realized I was missing out an opportunity to reward myself For all the work I had done to get to a point By not spending time reflecting This would be like a scientist running a lab And after a year of amazing experiments When asked to share what they have learned They would respond that they hadn't written a scientific paper They actually hadn't even collected any data. Reflection is a key part to maximize experiential learning--"it is actually the first step of understanding our experiences and critical to identifying new ones"[1] Looking to start reflecting? Try out the CAR method framework--still my personal favourite after 3 years of using it weekly. What is yours? ***** [1] Kolb, A. Y., & Kolb, D. A. (2005). Learning Styles and Learning Spaces: Enhancing Experiential Learning in Higher Education. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 4(2), 193-212. doi:10.5465/amle.2005.17268566

Every day begins and ends in the same powerful way for me: with a moment of quiet self-reflection. 💭    It's a practice I believe every entrepreneur should embrace, especially as we approach the new year.     Every morning, as soon as I wake, I look at my calendar and anticipate the day's events and potential uncertainties. This helps me approach each challenge with a balanced mindset, ensuring I'm prepared for whatever the day may bring.    Evenings are reserved for deeper reflection. I ponder the day's interactions:     What triggered emotional responses? Where do I need to forgive myself? How I could have improved my actions and behavior towards others?     Once I have my answers, I then know how I need to balance myself as I start the next day.     This isn't just about self-improvement; it's about fostering resilience, adaptability, and emotional intelligence – essential traits for any successful leader.     It allows me to remain grounded, learn rapidly from my experiences, and lead with a heightened awareness and empathy. 🙏    As we look towards 2024, how are you planning to integrate self-reflection into your daily routine? I’d love to hear your thoughts and reflections in the comments below. 👇    #awareness #emotionalintelligence #mindset #entrepreneurship #selfdevelopment  

Entrepreneurship is a relentless journey, filled with countless tasks aimed at propelling your company forward. While dedication is paramount, it's equally crucial to carve out moments for reflection. 🚶♂️ I often refer to these introspective periods as 'looking at yourself in the bigger picture'. It's about shifting our focus from the details to the grand scheme of things. Amidst our daily grind, it's easy to operate on autopilot, losing sight of our initial intentions and aspirations. 🙌 So, how do we remedy this? It starts with disconnecting from the hustle and bustle. Allocate three to five days annually to retreat from the noise of everyday life, liberating yourself from the distractions of technology, turning off the phone and shutting social media. 🎯 This retreat offers a rare opportunity to delve deep within, assessing your current position, reflecting on your journey thus far, and plotting your course ahead. 🛣 In essence, it's about treating yourself as your most significant project — one that warrants periodic evaluation and strategic planning. By periodically reflecting on your evolution, whether it's been one, three, five, or ten years, you ensure that your trajectory isn't a result of happenstance but rather a deliberate, proactive endeavor. 🚀 These moments of introspection empower entrepreneurs to make necessary course corrections along the way, steering their ventures toward success. Surprisingly, few entrepreneurs embrace this practice. 🔦 Yet, I've found immense value in it, and whenever I share its impact, others resonate deeply. Many have even adopted this habit, reaping the rewards. 🔝 I encourage you to schedule your own retreat and share your insights with me. 🙂 💪 #entrepreneurship #reflection #course

A new year is approaching, offering the perfect opportunity to pause, reflect, and celebrate the journey traveled in 2023. . ✨ As a coach with a deep appreciation for reflection and intentional living, I'd love to share some questions and journaling inspiration to guide your end-of-year reflections. ✍🏼 Here’s your friendly nudge and reminder to pause, reflect, and acknowledge yourself for all you’ve accomplished this year, whether big or small. 🎉✨ Consider these questions to support your reflection: • What valuable lessons did you learn this year? • How did you evolve over the past year? • In what ways did you step out of your comfort zone or take risks in 2023? • In what areas did you practice self-compassion, and where could you offer yourself more grace? • What are three words you would use to describe your overall 2023 experience? • What habits or routines positively impacted your daily life this year? • Did you prioritize balance in your career and lifestyle, and if not, how can you work towards it in the upcoming year? • What are some of your proudest accomplishments of 2023? How can you build on them? • What is one thing you would tell your past self at the beginning of the year, knowing what you know now? • What are you letting go of as you move into the new year? ➜Now, let’s dive into the reflection process: 🛠️ Tools: Grab a pen and paper. (Optional ambiance support: light a candle with some soft music 🕯️🎶 ). 1) Pause. 2) Get still. 3) Journal your responses to the questions above and reflect. Let your reflections support you in processing the growth you’ve achieved over the past year, empowering you to enter 2024 with purpose and intentionality. 💫 Are you going to try this exercise? Tell me in the comments, and don't forget to tag a friend who needs this! #reflection #intentionalliving #purposefulliving #endofyearreflections

After 6 years in professional development, I've realised: We spend the first half of our career learning the "rules" or industry "norms". The second half is spent challenging them. Imagine if we never went against the grain. Some (extreme) examples: 💡Reflection is a waste of time 💡Self-awareness doesn't impact decision-making 💡Personal growth happens naturally without effort 💡Strengths and weaknesses are fixed traits 💡Goals don't influence professional development And while none of these are perfectly resolved, there's a shift that happens through constant evangelism by people brave enough to challenge the status quo. Not everyone is going to like it. Not everyone will agree with you. It's noisy. It might cost you some things. But you do it nonetheless because you can't shake your gut that things need to be different or better. For professional development, those are: 👍🏻Embracing regular moments of reflection 👍🏻Enhancing self-awareness for better decision-making 👍🏻Actively identifying strengths and improvement areas 👍🏻Aligning actions with personal and professional goals 👍🏻Fostering a continuous growth mindset 👍🏻Challenging conventional wisdom in your field 👍🏻Seeking feedback and acting on it 👍🏻Investing in personal development consistently 👍🏻Balancing work and life for holistic growth Do you agree? ✅ Reflection leads to better decision-making and personal development. ❌ Avoiding self-reflection is the best way. Many professionals think constant action is always productive. But that's not true most of the time... When you neglect reflection, your self-awareness decreases, making growth stagnate and opportunities slip away. You end up feeling stuck in your career. Professional development gets harder as you lose direction, and you need external motivation constantly. What I say to do: Make time for regular self-reflection. You can get significant professional growth from intentional introspection. Set aside quiet time just for yourself. Ask yourself tough questions about your goals. Increased self-awareness means you're more aligned with your objectives and can make better decisions, before taking action. Don't try to avoid self-reflection. Start by scheduling reflection time, be honest with yourself, THEN act on your insights. A month end catch up with 8 amazing individuals with #bbtfrens #brandbuildertalents. Thanks for making time for this. Great to see everyone. I am Brent your branding strategist. Happy Sunday everyone. LinkedIn News Asia