If you want to be a better version of yourself - take the time to reflect and read philosophy.

Reflection is about taking time to assess different perspectives on a given issue.

Rather than holding on to their truth as the only right solution to a given problem, one might rather wonder more about a problem together. Therefore, try to reflect more together and exchange thoughts on a given issue. Hardly a day goes by that we can read in the media that there is some labor dispute that has ended up in the judicial system. Research also shows that working life has become harder, tougher and the level of conflict is increasing. Does it have to be this way? Well, hard to say, but I think that through dialogue and last but not least by leaders reflecting more, some of the conflicts can be avoided.

I once emphasized that agreement is good and good, but it is disagreement that contributes to innovation and progress. Then I was reprimanded by a person who thought that one should not put up with disagreements. There I clearly disagree because it is through conversations and disagreements that one can see things from different angles which together contribute to things escalating to a conflict. Bad leaders do not want the discussion, because they think they know best themselves. Of course they do not. Unfortunately, bad leaders are allowed to continue even though they should have been replaced too many years ago. They destroy both the organization, and last but not least individuals.

Everyone benefits from self-reflection, but as a leader I think you have to prioritize this. It is through self-reflection that we ourselves take responsibility for challenging our own point of view and trying to understand the thinking of others. An important tool in reflection is to ask questions and to problematize an issue in order to have the best possible discussion and be able to shed light on an issue well enough. It can be challenging to have a conversation without reaching an agreement, or without supporting each other's ways of working. Through reflection and striving to ask questions about the existing, it is important to make progress and avoid decisions being made on too thin a basis. As a leader, it is incredibly important not to surround yourself with Yes, people. But employees who are good at reflecting on an issue. Employees and managers have different experiences and act differently. The experiences can be more or less well thought out, and so can the actions. Reflection is an important prerequisite for qualified learning in an organization.

In the same way that we talk to the children about thinking through what happened and why it happened. In the same way, it is important to think about and evaluate the decisions that have been made in a work context. In theory, we read that reflection is needed to create learning. A British study, "Learning about reflection", shows that students learn best when they are given the opportunity for reflection after teaching. The same principle applies to management. It is not uncommon for us to see that an organization does not know why things are going well or badly.

Therefore, it is important to stop and open up for reflection in an organization. This enables new points of view and approaches. After I changed the composition of my current top management group with more women and the age composition, we have had a different dialogue and interaction in the management group. It is not that there was a bad management team before, far from it, but with greater diversity of gender and age, we have had a different dialogue and discussions. Therefore, it is about being a top manager that you facilitate and allow for disagreement rather than just associating with YES people.

It is about everyone having to consider the durability of their own position there and then. How did it really go? As a leader, I must be open to new perspectives to prevent my own tunnel vision. That is, and not be so dazzled by our own point of view and incompetence in that we overlook useful input that can provide relevant added value to the further work. I myself force myself to set aside time for reflection after important meetings and assignments. The best thing is that I "come up" that I can choose to do things differently next time. I have also known that this method helps me become less assertive. And that's never wrong! If you want to become a better leader, it is essential to reflect regularly and preferably daily. In a hectic everyday life and demands for quick fulfillment of goal requirements can cause valuable insight to be lost along the way.

That is why reflection is important. It is about being able to see different issues from new angles and points of view. It is the ability to put new experiences on the old ones. This gives us the opportunity to see more nuances and gain a greater understanding of the whole and reduces our tunnel vision. Reflection gives the opportunity to be outside ourselves, to look at a situation from a mountain top where we look out over the whole landscape.

Whether you are an employee or a manager, reflection enables us to:

• Better understand our own actions and patterns
• Sees things from the point of view of others
• Manages to distinguish one's own feelings from others
• Manages to see larger contexts

Everyone should prioritize time for self-reflection. "What really happened in the meeting today?", "What was the reason I faded out?", "What could I have done differently? What was the reason I chose as I did? What is the reason why the meeting was not successful? What could I have done differently? What can I learn here? ”The goal is not to find right or wrong, but to better understand our own reactions and actions in a specific situation. It gives more room for maneuver the next time we are in the same situation.