Reflection is subversive. Uprise! Slow down!

Space to reflect? Where is that? Are you saying we are not reflective? Don’t we have intelligence? Are you suggesting we don’t think properly?

Hey! Hold on! Stop the shouting.

Believe me, some people get offended. They may not express it as vocally as this.

Reflection needs space. And time. Which is the same thing but twice.

I really love the analogy (discovered in Julian Baggini’s book, How the world thinks) of being in a train at high speed and only being able to see a blurred landscape through the window. Only slowing down will let you see the trees and the country in detail.

Many organizations run at high speed. People are unable to reflect on those trees because they can’t see them. The subversive thing to say and do, is slow down, pause, breath.

We have had a ‘slow food’ movement’. We need a ‘slow down the train’ one.

I know, I know, those unmanageable and irresponsible people (‘they’) will never get anything done. What about the 327 KPIs of the strategic plan? What is going to happen to them? Surely nothing with a low speed train.

I hear that music.

Some managers/leaders are so worried about this! Yet, of course some organizations need to inject speed, not the opposite. Back to my train, some organizations are such a slow train that they always see the same tree. Some are so insanely speedy that they can’t see any tree.

Leaders are in charge of speed limits. Up or down.

Cruise control is a leader's key competence.

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This extract is taken from Leandro Herrero's thought-provoking book on leadership Camino – Leadership Notes on the Road, a leadership journey in 300+ stops reflecting on leadership as a continuously evolving praxis. For book extracts or to order your copy.

Here's a downloadable extract from Chapter 1 – Camino Extract Chapter 1 Part 4.

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Dr Leandro Herrero is the CEO and Chief Organization Architect of The Chalfont Project, an international firm of organizational architects. He is the pioneer of Viral Change?, a people Mobilizing Platform, a methodology that delivers large scale behavioural and cultural change in organizations, which creates lasting capacity for changeability.

Dr Herrero is also an Executive Fellow at the Centre for the Future of Organization, Drucker School of Management.

An international speaker, Dr Herrero is regularly invited to speak at global conferences and corporate events. To invite Leandro to speak at your conference or business event contact: The Chalfont Project or email: [email protected].