??Infuse Reflection to Revitalize Your Year-end Review Process

Welcome to the 'Power Series,’ your monthly solution to unleash, radiate and transmit power in every area of your life growing as a mindful leader.

Power of Reflection

In this week's Power series, we explore the 'Power of Reflection'. As a business leader, you must constantly take action?? and drive performance to deliver results??. As you navigate through waves ???? of change, challenges, and complexity, facing constant high-pressure and being in high-stakes environments, do you find yourself rushing ????♀?from meeting to meeting and decision to decision? In your action-packed world do you view downtime as time wasted?

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With the beginning of the new ??fiscal year starting Apr 2024, as a business leader you and your team must be immersed in conducting business reviews, financial reviews, performance reviews ??and preparing for the year ahead. While reviews are crucial for setting and steering your future strategic direction, have you paused to consider the below:

??What does "review" mean to you?

??How do you measure its effectiveness for your business and team?

Transform your review process into a valuable opportunity for you and your team to RE-VIEW ??your experiences from last year through a fresh lens.

This approach will amplify the impact and engagement, making your team's review process more personalized. Create space for members to ??PAUSE and ??REFLECT - delve into various experiences from the past year, both inward-out and outward-in; in this manner, they will be able to internalize their journey, leading to valuable discoveries at the individual, team, and business levels.

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As T.S. Eliot in Four Quartets wrote, “We had the experience but missed the meaning.”

Reflection is a great way to uncover the more profound significance of your experiences, providing valuable insights and learnings that may have otherwise gone unnoticed.

Rewards of reflection include:?

·??????? Enhanced self-awareness

·??????? Deeper insights and learning

·??????? Distilling new perspectives

·??????? Fostered creativity and innovation

·??????? Increased trust and collaboration

·??????? Improved business outcomes?

Revitalize Your Year-end Review Process by Infusing Reflection with these 4 Simple Steps:

1????Play Pause

Stepping back from action and taking time to reflect can lead to remarkable realizations and discoveries??. Reflection is a conversation between yourself as the actor and the observer. It helps you analyze, probe, and connect with the happening. Reflection is a great way to distance yourself from immediate emotional reactions, see a situation from a wider perspective, and gain valuable insights. This process helps you feel calmer and more connected to your center.

Kickstart your review process by inviting the team to center themselves with a moment of mindful breathing??. Emphasize the importance of slowing down to introduce the powerful practice of reflection. This initial step sets the tone for thoughtful and insightful reflection.

As said by Richard Carlson, "Reflection is one of the most underused yet powerful tools for success."

?What should be the focus of your reflection?

2????Reflect on Surprise, Failure, and Frustration

As per the HBR article, “Don’t Underestimate the Power of Self-Reflection”, research was conducted with 442 executives to reflect on which experiences had the most significant impact on making them better leaders. A profound theme emerged among leaders: reflection on experiences of surprise, failure, and frustration proved most valuable for growth.?? These moments not only facilitated learning but also fostered significant leadership development. Experiences encompassing surprise, frustration, and failure engage your head (cognitive), heart (emotional), and hands (behavioral), fostering learning and growth. Guide your team to reflect on the below at an individual level first:

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1. Surprise - Reflect on situations where you were surprised. What happened in that situation? Was there a lapse in judgment from your end, or did you pre-empt specific outcomes, and things did not turn out as you had assumed? Situations that amaze us, shock ?? us, and catch us off-guard are moments to be pondered. You can learn much from these situations as they challenge your assumptions, broaden your perspectives, and spark personal growth.?
2. Failure: Reflect on your failures ? and ask yourself, what have I learned from this experience? Or what could I have done differently? What strengths or weaknesses did I discover in myself during this challenge? How can I turn this setback into an opportunity for growth? ?As Barack Obama said, "You can't let your failures define you. You have to let your failures teach you." Let failure be your biggest motivator; let failures refine you and not define you.
3. Frustration: Think of situations that brought frustration ?? for you during the year. What were you feeling at that point in time and why? Could you have felt differently in that situation? Frustration is an excellent reflection of areas where you can develop a new perspective or skills or grow your patience. At the root of frustration may lie underlying values not being met. Through reflecting on these situations, you can identify themes where, by bringing a shift in your perspective, overcoming biases, or developing new skills, you feel more equipped to handle such situations and grow as a leader.

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Create a psychologically safe space for the team to share their learning through this reflection exercise. Go a step further and discuss situations where you collectively experienced surprise, failure, or frustration. It will help identify focus areas or common patterns that can be addressed to improve team dynamics and performance. Encouraging open dialogue and reflection can yield valuable insights and highlight key themes to focus on in the upcoming year.

?What else can you reflect upon?

?3????Reflect to Identify Good Problems

One of the great ways to drive innovation as part of the next fiscal year planning is to steer ?? your team to reflect on identifying good problems ?? instead of seeking good ideas. Brainstorm with your team to identify the most pressing challenges being faced by your customers, clients, processes, and new markets. Compile a list of identified issues and collectively determine which problems resonate most with the group and that you are passionate about solving. It can lead to breakthrough ideas ??that can shape impactful solutions.??

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4????Adopt Self-reflection as a Habit

Last but not least, adopt self-reflection as part of your routine. ??? Schedule regular reflection sessions on your calendar, either daily or weekly. Allocate specific time ?to connect with your day emotionally and make space to reflect on various experiences. This shift will help you evolve from an operational leader to a visionary leader.

As said, ‘Being at the top of your game only comes when you extract from your past how to engage the future.’ Reflection is a magical tool that can help you experience the ???world within and around you from an entirely new lens. The benefits are innumerable, and the key lies in strengthening the skill through regular practice.

A quote by Peter F. Drucker, the father of modern management, is: “Follow effective action with quiet reflection. From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action."

?More Power of ‘Reflection’ to you!'??

Keep smiling and Keep shining…??

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??Are you a business leader driven for success but feel your ??best is yet to come? Imagine being at your ?peak every day, free from self-doubt and limitations, and leading with confidence and clarity. It's possible!

The secret I learned through my own journey is - you don't have to overcome these odds on your own. ??Join me for a Mindful Leadership Coaching session, and together, we'll pave the way for you to unleash your TRUE POWER and become the mindful and inspiring leader you've always aspired to be.

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