As this year winds down, have you paused to celebrate how far you’ve come and what you’ve learned along the way?

Reflection is a cornerstone of effective leadership. It gives us the chance to celebrate successes, express gratitude, learn from challenges, and chart a course for the future.

Are you a leader?

Do you know how you are doing? Do you ever ask for feedback?

Sometimes leaders feel like they are failing (and sometimes they are).

Last week, I was setting up my Facebook Live and the tech wouldn’t work. I kept trying to click through the options and it kept stalling and I was stuck. I skipped one week and in that time Facebook changed the interface. I didn’t know if I was doing something wrong, or if the issues were on their end, but I just felt the anxiety and stress creep up as 8:30 am came and then passed

Go Hard or Go Home!
It’s All or Nothing!
No Pain, No Gain!

I’m not sure when I first heard these phrases, but I somehow never thought to question them.

I love a good system.

Love might be overstating it, but upon further reflection, I really don’t think so.

Fail better? I’d never heard that phrase before I first read about it in Michael Bungay Stanier’s book: The Coaching Habit. But as I read it, I put stars beside it and made a note to reflect on it, and it’s been swirling around my brain for the past few months.

I often read books for a specific purpose when I want to learn more about a topic so I can teach, but as I started reading more regularly (resulting in greater quantity), I started wondering, “Am I implementing any of the ideas from these books or am I just reading them and then putting them on my shelf?”

For years, I’ve known about the importance of values. I had a loose idea of mine swirling around in my head, but I hadn’t clearly defined them. A couple of years ago, I spent time narrowing them down, and digging in so I could articulate them.

I was reading a book the other night: The 4% Fix and came across this passage:

“Have you ever had a brilliant idea or solved what felt like an unsolvable problem in the shower, or just before falling asleep, or maybe when you’re sitting alone in nature? The quietness and stillness of your mind during these types of activities allow for thought processes that couldn’t get through the noise before.” (Karma Brown pp. 195-6)

I’m reading Howard Behar’s Book It’s Not About the Coffee (Howard was a senior executive at Starbucks who worked closely with Howard Schultz, founder, and whose focus was always the people and culture). I actually saw him speak at a conference a few years ago and his talk was titled, “It’s About the People” which fits my belief about a people-centric focus too.

I’ve practiced several different morning routines over the years, but none have really stuck. I understand the importance of a good morning routine, and I am always happier when I can get myself settled and set in the morning before the hecticness of everything starts, but inevitably, the lure of my cozy bed wins out over the alarm clock.

Last weekend I was feeling extremely overwhelmed. I had a to do list which seemed insurmountable, and no motivation to climb that mountain. I was coming off a busy week and had some looming deadlines which were creeping up faster than I would have liked.

I have always thought I was a fairly positive person, but about 13 years ago, someone challenged me on that belief. I asked around and a couple people reinforced that despite how I saw myself, they saw me as leaning towards the negative. It shocked me and made me really think and reflect.

An important part of leadership is to pause and take breaks (as I mentioned in THIS Pause blog post). Sometimes those breaks are mental breaks to recoup and recover. Other times, they should be clarity breaks where you take a step back and focus on your business or your life. It’s a chance to clear your mind of the thousand questions and thoughts flying around and get them down on paper.