The CEO has a lot on his/her plate. You are responsible for leading the company, and that comes with a lot of other responsibilities that help you do that. Good CEOs stay busy, but it is important to take time to self-reflect in order to become a better leader and improve the business. Following are six points to consider.
You Will Make Better Decisions
When you reflect on how you've handled things in the past, you learn lessons. If you make a habit of reflecting regularly, these lessons will stick and combine to help you make more informed decisions based on experience. You know what works and what doesn't based on past trials and errors, and your decision-making will benefit as a result.
You Will Communicate Better
When you reflect on how you communicate with others, you can better understand how your messages are being received. Do your employees get what you are actually asking for? Was there a miscommunication? How could you have explained it better? Asking questions like these will help you fine-tune your approach to future communications. This can lead to better results and even improved relationships with your team and others.
You Will Be More Resilient
CEOs who are able to reflect upon themselves can recognize the things they have done well and the things they could have improved upon. They notice the signs of stress and burnout and address them before they become problematic. Being able to do this can improve your mental health and help you to be more resilient in the face of troubles or uncertainty. It can also help you better adapt to change when needed.
You Will Be More Self-Aware
Being more self-aware is great for leadership because it gives you a better understanding of your strengths and weaknesses. You can then take advantage of your strengths and seek help or guidance in areas of weakness, benefiting your business overall. Self-awareness also helps you develop emotional intelligence so you can better manage your own emotions and understand those of others, which will make you more empathetic.
Explore Your Emotions
Ben Bryant at IMD says leaders should feel emotions before they start thinking about them.*
"Remember, suppressing emotions — trying to get rid of the dissonance caused by uncomfortable feelings — can impair your logic and rationality," he says. "By exploring them, you expose the irrationality of any actions that may follow. You might even end up making decisions to minimize negative emotions rather than working towards the organization’s goals and objectives. For this reason, reflection starts with emotion, not thought. The key is to be aware of what you are doing with these feelings, to try to unearth what you are feeling — and why."
Take Admirable Attributes from Others
Tim Conn at Forbes recommends modeling yourself off of others' characteristics rather than people in their entirety.** "This means taking what works for someone else and applying it to your own style of leadership," he explains.
"For example, if someone has an effective method of delegating tasks, take
that practice and see how it could apply to your own team. It is also important
to remember that the cookie-cutter approach to leadership should be avoided, as what works for one person may not necessarily work for another."
When you put helpful attributes from others together, they can make you a wholly more effective leader.
Self-reflection overall can make a good CEO a great one. When you can make better informed decisions, improve your communications with staff and others, be more resilient and mentally healthy, as well as self-aware, you will have the ingredients needed to make a top-shelf leader. Improved leadership will help you guide your business to greater success, and those who work for you will respect you and want to give their best efforts.
* https://www.imd.org/ibyimd/leadership/self-reflection-for-leaders-in-five-steps/
