The 5 R's - A Leader's Toolkit

As we near the end of one more year there's always a tendency to look back on the year past and look forward to the year ahead. But often each year can end up being a replay if we don't take the time to pause and extract growth from our experiences.

The 5 R's is a framework I use for my growth as a person and a leader, and I have always found it both valuable and meaningful. This framework is a set of habits which, if we practice consistently, can have a transformative impact on us. Just as we have our annual medical health check and hopefully take corrective action on the health parameters that are off target, this becomes our leadership and growth health check. In fact, for a leader, this is not just a nice-to-have; this is a must-have.

What does it consist of, and how can we make the best of it? Here are the 5 R's as I use them.

Record:?This is the habit of recording all the events and experiences that make up our journeys as leaders. These involve decisions, key actions, results (both successes and failures), important interactions, feedback, observations, lessons, and experiences. For this to be useful, it must be a habit. It cannot be something I do intermittently or "when I get the time’" A journal or diary is, therefore, a great way to stay with the habit. For those not keen on writing in a physical diary or journal, there are apps that serve the same purpose (Penzu, Day One, Grid Diary or Daylio - if you prefer a more visual approach- are some good options.)

It is important to be honest in recording points in the journal. If not, we defeat the whole purpose of growth. So, if I was fearful of a particular sales pitch or an interaction with a troublesome person, I’d record it as such - capturing both my fears and what I think are the reasons for it. If I messed up on a decision, I should articulate the decision I made and the rationale I gave myself for it. I should also record what eventually happened and why I believe it was the wrong decision. If I said the wrong thing and damaged a relationship, I should record what I said, why I said it, and the impact it had on the other person. If I sailed through a particular assignment or successfully achieved a milestone, I should record the actions I took or did not take before the achievement, the preparations I put in and the reasons I succeeded.?

A word of caution - this should not become merely a log. A log can be an impotent record of events. In our recordings, we want to capture the feelings, the logic, the impact, and the perspective. This is what gives the exercise flesh and blood.

It also helps to stay organized and specific in our recording, as this becomes useful in our next step.

Review:?This could be done monthly, as a short review, and twice a year or annually as a more detailed exercise. This activity needs lock-off time. It is not something to be rushed through. It helps to block off a whole day, if necessary, to do this in a calm and comfortable environment. The review allows me to go through everything I’ve recorded. I’m able to shine the light on the past months. The review really brings to life one of the biggest benefits of the diary or journal habit – which is that it can act as a sounding board and mentor. It becomes almost a conversation I’m holding with myself – hopefully the wiser and more aware version of myself. The review phase also gives us the self-awareness that we might sometimes lack in the rough and tumble of everyday action and reaction. It helps to sit with pen and paper, making notes, highlighting important insights from our records.

Reflect:?As Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Without reflection, all our jottings become sundials in the shade. Reflection is harvest-time.

Here it is important for us to connect things – we should be able to look at the events and the journey, the detail and the big picture. I look for themes, recurring patterns, uncharacteristic behaviour, difficulties with particular situations or people.?

The goal of the reflection phase is insights. We must be able to glean from all our recording and reviewing, the important insights about our impact and performance as leaders. For this to work, we need to be brutally honest and humble. We need to go below the surface during this exercise. Incisive questions help.

• If this was my behaviour, what does it tell me about my attitudes and my beliefs??
• Why was I so passionate and excited about this event??
• Which were the times I felt I was performing in my peak-zone??
• Who are the people who bring out the best in me??
• Why do I avoid some situations – what are my underlying fears??
• How did I go through making a specific decision- what is common to decisions I got wrong and decisions I got right??

Each of these self-search questions becomes fertile ground for harvesting insights on myself – how I act, react, decide, learn, perform and communicate. You can’t un-ring a bell. There’s no point spending time on regret or wishing that things from the past happened differently. But by reflecting on them, we can make them useful inputs for the future – to harness our strengths and minimize the impact of our weaknesses.

Renew and Resolve:?Even though we bucket both these R’s, they are distinct. Renew involves renewing our commitment to the core beliefs, values, and principles by which we lead. It means reaffirming our commitment to the goals we have set for ourselves.?

Resolve involves recommitting to the next phase of our journey of growth. This is the platform from which we set new goals for the future, new projects to take on, new habits to cultivate and some old habits to kill. We make choices to retain and build on the things that are good and working well but also find and renew the courage to let go of things that aren’t. The renew phase also helps us find the strength through the why, even while we make decisions around the what and the how.

Peter Drucker put this 5 R cycle to work in what he called feedback analysis. In fact, he called it the only way to "discover your strengths". In his words, “Whenever you make a key decision or take a key action, write down what you expect will happen. Nine or twelve months later, compare the actual results with your expectations." Drucker wrote that he practiced this for decades and the results always surprised him. "Practiced consistently, this simple method will show you…where your strengths lie…(it) will show you what you are doing or failing to do that deprives you of the full benefits of your strengths."

For a caterpillar to become a butterfly, it has to move on, unshackle the old form and embrace the new. A great example for all of us in our leadership journey. And the 5 R's becomes a powerful tool we can leverage to make that happen!

Do you have a framework that has worked well for you? Would love to hear back.

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