The stereotypical leader is not reflective. He or she is a type-A, action-oriented, goal-driven, energetic extrovert. Self-reflection is for the birds. Pondering life is a waste of time. Journaling is an exercise in futility. In reality, moments of reflection are moments to stop and think — to recharge and gain power.
What Is Reflection?
The word “reflection” sounds a bit Zenish or pagan mystical. For Christians, self-reflection is not pagan syncretism. In fact, it is distinctly Christian. Christians should take time to speak with God, to allow God to speak to us through the Bible, and to put our minds on things slightly more weighty than the next urgent phone call or vexing email. For Christians, self-reflection is spiritual growth. A leader’s time of self-reflection should have the following qualities:
- Privacy. There are times for groupthink and brainstorming sessions. Self-reflection requires just you, God, and maybe a cup of coffee.
- Goal-forming. Reflection gives you time to look at your vision, mission, and goals. It’s so easy to get bogged down in the daily race that we forget about our goals. Pull that goal list out, read it over, and reflect.
- Vision-casting. Time for reflection gives you the luxury of simply thinking visionary thoughts. If you can’t justify a blissful half-hour of dreaming about the future, you need to do it during your time of reflection.
- Prayer. Goals, visions, and dreams are insufficient unless you are giving them to God in prayer.
The Power of Reflection
In Stephen Covey’s book Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, he sketches out a quadrant for productivity. In quadrant II are activities such as “preparation,” “planning,” and “personal development.” These are activities which aren’t urgent, but which are no less important. In fact, they are very important.
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The problem is, most busy people are spending time in quadrants one, three, and four. Quadrant two gets neglected. When that happens, our leadership, lives, and mental energy are sacrificed. In essence, we are ruining our leadership ability by ignoring one of the two most important types of activities. How much better would your leadership and personal ability be if you devoted more time to preparation, planning, prevention, relationship-building, and personal development?
So what does this mean? Basically, self-reflection is really important. It is a source of personal power, and greater leadership growth. It’s not merely important. For a leader, it’s essential.
How to Become Reflective
Being reflective isn’t a you-have-it-or-you-don’t type of thing. Being reflective is simply intentionally taking time to reflect. Pretty simple. True reflection doesn’t randomly happen in those epiphany moments. If you have epiphanies, that’s great. Most of us need something a bit more structured, though. Here are X suggestions for cultivating reflectiveness, and increasing your leadership ability.
- Schedule time for reflection. Reflection ain’t going to happen unless you fit it in your schedule. As discussed above, self-reflection is an important part of leadership and life. At the minimum, schedule a half hour of reflection each week. You’ll find that it really helps to keep you on track.
- Keep a journal. The best way to reflect is to write down your reflections. It is not necessary to be a slave to your journal, but it is important to record your thoughts from time to time. A journal is not a logbook: ”Woke at 6. Ate oatmeal. Met Andy for lunch. Tired. Going to bed.” A journal is thoughts, feelings, vision, impressions. For example, “While working on the church budget today, I realized that our church is not actively pursuing outreach. Met with Andy to discuss outreach options. I know that outreach must begin in my own heart. Praying for a burden, and sharing the story of Jesus with my unsaved neighbor, Gary.”
- Pray daily. Being reflective is not glimpsing into the human well or self-sufficiency, nor is it tapping into some universal mystical power. Self-reflection is taking quiet moments to forge your relationship with God. Make prayer a part of your daily life, speaking to God and submitting to Him.
- Take care of your body. Your body works as an integrated system. Your mind will not work at peak levels unless you are well-rested, well-fed, and working out. Keep up with your body, and you’ll find that your mind works better at reflection, and everything else.
If you feel awkward sitting by yourself just reflecting, don’t worry. Self-reflection takes practice. Once you experience the mind-liberating power, focus, and ability, you’ll never go back to the fast-paced frenetic race where you never stop and think. Self-reflection is indeed the effective leader’s secret to power.
