- by Sophie Pinkoski

Since 2023, it has been reported that 77% of organizations struggle to find and develop effective leaders. Leadership skills don’t always come naturally, but they can be learned. By offering appropriate training, organizations can develop their leaders to inspire trust in their teams, drive innovation, and adapt to challenges as they come. Adding reflective leadership into your weekly routine can play a huge role in building these skills in your repertoire. This means learning to be present in your work and embracing introspection to understand how your past actions inform your future decisions. This kind of reflection can lead to further professional growth as well as motivation for your team.

Every decision we make is influenced by our unique individual perspectives and our emotional reaction to our experiences.

If you’re coming at a decision from a negative headspace, this can lead to impulsive, emotionally driven actions that can create larger challenges down the line. Taking the time to pause and reflect on how an event is making you feel allows you to consider the best options for your organization. Gaining the emotional intelligence to regulate your emotions accordingly helps you to use your best judgement to properly read a situation to make the best decisions. It requires leaving your ego at the door to do what’s right for your organization, rather than based on how you feel in the heat of the moment.  The collaborative benefits that come from thinking of your organization first means you can make more effective decisions not just for right now, but well into the future.

Here are ways you can use reflective leadership to improve your future planning:

Reflect on the past–– Looking back on how far your organization has come can be a motivating experience. It proves what has been possible in the past and thus what your team is capable of in the future. Celebrating the organization's past successes boosts your team’s morale and overall confidence. When everyone knows the challenges the organization has already overcome, you can achieve just about anything. This lends your team empowering resilience that will push them through even the biggest of challenges because they already know what the organization has already overcome.

Understanding how past challenges were approached can thus inform how you face them in the future.

In this way, you can be proactive in your crisis planning, anticipating emergencies your organization has already overcome. However, not all challenges are handled successfully. There are learning opportunities in "failure" as well, and your organization's past mistakes can be just as informative as its successes. What’s more, tracking your organization’s milestones can offer a sense of direction in a pre-existing roadmap to achieve your goals.

Revisit your past year’s goals to inform your new ones–– When setting goals for your coming year, it’s important to start from where you’re at. This means looking back on your past year with both its achievements and challenges. Many of your goals may carry over from the last year. Tracking your progress on these goals helps give you perspectives on how far you’ve already come and what you have yet to achieve. These unmet objectives can speak to what can be improved in your process. There may be gaps or limitations preventing your team from meeting their targets or maximizing their productivity. On the other hand, reflecting on your past year’s achievements can also inform your strategy. You know what has been most effective for your team. From there, you can begin to fill any gaps you have by adjusting your methods accordingly.

Incorporating your most successful strategies from the past year will give you foresight into what must be done to fulfill your new objectives for the coming year.

Imagine your ideal end of year with your goals accomplished. Working backwards to identify each step it took to get you there will help you set up each steppingstone to make this vision a reality. Let your plans for where you wanted to be within the past year inform you where you want to go in your future.

Build on your organization’s legacy–– The prevailing assumption is that looking back on your past can bring all momentum moving forward to a grinding halt. But reflecting on the past can be a powerful motivator on its own. Acknowledging your team’s collective efforts in the past can actually speak to the legacy built up around your organization over time. An organization’s legacy is often attributed to its leader, but it takes an entire team of skilled individuals to make it happen. Linking the past to the future is incredibly important when making individuals see how they contributed to their organization’s successes. Often future planning can be daunting to team members who fear the unknown. Not knowing their place in the organization’s future can leave them reluctant to invest in your future vision. By recognizing their achievements, you are able to show them the value their skills bring to the team and that their talents are needed for the organization’s overall future success. Celebrating these wins is crucial for maintaining engagement, as only 33% of workers feel engaged in their work. 69% say they would in fact be motivated to work harder if their contributions were acknowledged and 79% would leave their role if they felt unappreciated. Looking back on their past projects can also help your team members identify areas of improvement and skills they wish to develop further. Investing in your team’s development in this way helps them to buy into your future vision for your organization.

Legacy building is a collaborative process– you want your team at their best to achieve it.

Reflective leadership is essential for attaining intentional growth and meaningful impact with your team. Your organization’s past achievements and challenges are key insights as to how to make better decisions for your organization's future. It gives your team a sense of purpose and shared pride for the work they do. Collectively reflecting on your organization can help you create an empowering guide not just for your current team, but future leaders to aspire toward as well.

Further Reading:

The Key To Leadership Development Is Critical Reflection, Forbes

As Leaders, Reflection Needs To Be A Rhythm, Forbes

Don’t Underestimate the Power of Self-Reflection, Harvard Business Review

Why You Should Make Time for Self-Reflection (Even If You Hate Doing It), Harvard Business Review

The Importance of Reflecting on Your Leadership Journey, Linked In

Leadership Starts with Self-Reflection, Fluency Leadership

How Self-Reflection Can Improve Your Leadership, Notre Dame Deloitte Centre for Ethical Leadership

Five Ways Leaders Can Practice Self Reflection and Why It’s Important for Business Growth, People Management

Reflective Leadership: The Importance of Self-awareness and Introspection, Align Today

6 Powerful Ways Leaders Reflect, and how Reflection Makes Your Team Great,  RapidStart Leadership

Reflective Leadership, Engage for Success

Slowing Down for Self-Reflection Improves the Speed of Your Leadership, Forbes

The Importance of Reflective Leadership in Business, Harvard Business School

Why Reflection Is Crucial To Leadership, Future Planning And Success, Forbes

How Self-Reflection Makes You A Better Leader, Forbes

Seven Tips For Designing A Leadership Self-Reflection Practice, Forbes

Why Looking Back Can Help You Lead Forward, Training Industry