Emergent Leaders Newsletter – 063 - The Productivity Killer You’re Overlooking: Rumination

As a leader, you may notice some of your team members getting caught in cycles of overthinking OR maybe you’ve even noticed yourself hit a proverbial “wall”, preventing you from getting more done. While thoughtful consideration can be a strength, there’s a fine line between productive reflection and counterproductive rumination.??

Having a clear understanding of the two can not only help you unlock significantly greater productivity, but it also helps boost work/life satisfaction.?

?

Reflection vs. Rumination?

The act of reflecting is constructive. It’s about analyzing situations to learn and improve. A reflective employee may ask themselves questions like, “What worked?”, “Where did this project go off the rails?”, “What can I do differently next time?”. These types of questions, when acted on, lead to continued improvement over time.?

Team members who actively engage in a more reflective mindset and continual improvement habits are less afraid to take on risks. They see mistakes as learning opportunities to fine tune their work.?

?

Rumination or over-thinking, on the other hand, is destructive. It involves replaying mistakes and worst-case scenarios without resolution. Ruminators often think, “Why did I mess up?”, “What if I fail again?”, “What will others think?”. Rumination often fuels feelings of shame, drains energy and creativity, leading to diminished productivity, indecision, and frustration.??

Team members who tend to go about this way usually take fewer risks. They are also less likely to be comfortable with change as they would much prefer to stick to a process, they are familiar with and know they are good at, making it difficult to be agile in a fast-moving world.?

?

Impact of Rumination in the workplace?

As a leadership coach, the volatility the world is experiencing right now seems to have more clients going into freeze mode. By helping them examine their current self-talk habits, we can create systems and instill new habits to cut through the noise, which tends to significantly reduce the over-thinnking.?As a result of forming new habits, they improve their workflow, productivity and decision-making skills.?Addressing rumination is therefore crucial not only for business output, but it’s also been shown to be beneficial for the individual’s professional and career development.?

Signs of an over-thinker?

• Replaying past mistakes, constantly analyzing what they should have said or done.?
• Feeling paralyzed by too many options, fearing the “wrong” choice.?
• Fixating on worst-case scenarios or defaulting to negative outcomes and “what-if” spirals.?
• Difficulty sleeping as the mind races with thoughts when they try to rest.?
• Delaying action or spending more time thinking about doing something rather than actually doing it.?
• Seeking excessive reassurance, frequently asking others if they made the right choice.?
• Over-analyzing conversations or worrying about how others interpreted what they said.?

?

Helping Team Members Shift into Action?

What can you do to help your team members (or yourself) shift from rumination to more productive reflective practices? Try incorporating the following actions:??

?

1. Create a culture where it’s safe to seek clarity. Encourage team members to ask, “What does success look like?” or “What are the priorities?” or “What’s important right now?” to help focus thoughts (and energy) on the right things.?
2. Ruminators often lack confidence because they’re unsure where they stand. Regular, constructive and specific feedback can help employees move forward by focusing on actionable steps.?
3. Set false deadlines to ensure actions and decisions are pushed to the actual deadline.?
4. Encourage journaling or after-action reviews to help employees channel their thoughts into learning opportunities instead of endless “what-ifs.” If you wish, indulge in the “what if’s” when journaling by exploring the actual worst-case scenarios, along with what could be done to rectify, and the likelihood of it happening.?
5. Demonstrate reflection instead of rumination in your own leadership. Share lessons you’ve learned from your own mistakes and how they’ve allowed you to push forward.?
6. If you notice someone caught in a rumination cycle, help them see the broader picture and coach them through to actionable steps.?On the other hand, sometimes ruminators get overwhelmed by the big picture and don’t know where to start. If you notice someone caught in this rumination cycle, it can be helpful to break down the project with them and create smaller, more manageable milestones with clear success or achievement indicators. With collaborative practice and time, they will learn to do this by themselves.?

?

By addressing rumination in the workplace, you can empower all team members to take more decisions and swift actions, so that productivity and teams can thrive.

Do YOU need help fostering a reflective culture? Reach out to have a conversation about turning your overthinking into action and progress.?

If you are looking for a more customized leadership development experience, leadership coaching may be the better option to get you to your professional development goals faster. Book a complimentary “Discovery Call” to discuss your goals and see if working with a leadership coach might be the way to go.