Reflection is one of the least appreciated and practiced of the leadership arts, says John Frost, but great leaders are those that take time to reflect, to think as well as do.

Great reflection makes an art out of leadership. Great leaders make time for reflection, to think as well as to do. It is how they learn to grow and develop and create a legacy that far outlasts their tenure as leader of any one group of people.

"Many of us have been so used to working in cultures that emphasise action and reaction rather than reflection and proactivity that we don't challenge the norm."

I have a friend who is fond of saying that the modern definition of madness is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. There is more than a little truth in that! This definition might rightly make many of us feel uncomfortable when we think of our own lives. It's that rather uncomfortable feeling that you get when you know that you have been here before, making the same mistakes - a rather negative version of deja vu!

Enter reflection, stage left.
Looking at definitions of reflection reveals a number of observations on what it is:

• A calm, lengthy, intent consideration


• Attentive consideration and meditation


• The process of giving careful thought to something


• Continuous and profound contemplation or musing on a subject or series of subjects of a deep or abstruse nature


• The contemplation of your own thoughts and desires and conduct


• Contemplation of things past

In truth, all of these definitions and practices are of great help to leaders as, when practiced regularly, it gives them the opportunity to learn and develop by reflecting on their experience of leadership, to make changes in attitude and behaviour and to develop wisdom. And wisdom is at the core of personal power, that quality that attracts followers to leaders. This is nothing to do with your job title but it is about your ability to win the hearts and minds of the people that you lead, to win their trust, respect and confidence. To engage them fully in what you are trying to achieve and to develop this wisdom, you have to develop self awareness and self leadership. If you cannot lead yourself you have little chance of leading others. It is here that reflection offers you a significant arrow in your leadership quiver. Quality reflection and a commitment to learn and grow as a result, gives you the opportunity of creating an exciting leadership journey for yourself and for others.

And yet, I have noticed over the last 15 years of working with leaders from all over the world that reflection is one of the least appreciated and least practiced of the leadership arts. So this begs the question – why?

Part of the reason is speed. We live in a fast food society: "I want it and I want it right now." We are constantly told that we have to be fast on our feet, create a sense of urgency in everything that we do. I am not arguing against a sense of urgency; in fact I have run many leadership change programmes that argue the case for it. But, what if we could speed up by slowing down? Sounds ridiculous? Well think what it really means to have that uncomfortable feeling that I described above. There is a choice and it is down to us. The problem is that we can get addicted to action. As long as we are doing something, anything, looking and feeling busy, then, so goes our logic, we must be adding value somewhere!

So it follows that we don't have time to reflect or, more accurately, we don't make time to reflect. When I ask leaders if they have time put aside in their schedule for reflection I often get strange looks.

"What do you mean by putting in the diary that I am thinking and reflecting?"
"That's the idea!"
"What will people say? I could never do that"

And herein lies the challenge. Many of us have been so used to working in cultures that emphasise action and reaction rather than reflection and pro-activity that we don't challenge the norm. We become afraid to do what we know will make a difference. In these situations it takes courage to stand out from the crowd.

A simple reflection technique that one can use is based around four simple questions:

1. What happened and why did it happen in that way?


2. How did I think and feel about what happened?


3. What did I learn from this experience?


4. What will I change (behaviours, attitudes etc.) as a result of this learning?

It's also really useful to record your thoughts in a journal so that you can refer back to them and track the progress of the actions that you take.

Louis Pasteur said that "chance favours the prepared mind." The pace of change is undoubtedly increasing which is reducing the time that we have to make quality decisions. The current world economic instability, some would say crisis, is indicative of how fast fortunes of companies and individuals can change. In such a climate it is perhaps counterintuitive to stop and reflect. But if Pasteur was right, and his track record of achievements tends to suggest that he was, then perhaps it is time for some counterintuitive actions. Robert Frost said "Two roads diverged in the wood and I took the one less travelled by, and that has made all the difference".

It is refection that gives you that opportunity and the choice to take the road less traveled, by learning from your experiences, leading yourself and ultimately leading others with authenticity and wisdom. Or of course you could settle for madness…

John Frost is the operations director at Values Based Leadership