Why Reflection Is Essential for Effective Leadership

Hi there, I'm Ben Morton, and welcome to The Leader's Kitbag, the podcast that delivers practical leadership insights in less than 10 minutes. Each episode tackles a real challenge faced by leaders and managers with simple ideas and tools you can take away and apply immediately. And because leadership doesn't happen sitting behind a desk, Many of these episodes are recorded outside whilst I'm walking and thinking. They're informal, unscripted, and straight to the point. So, wherever you are, let's get started and sharpen your leadership skills one episode at a time. If you're someone who feels constantly busy, like you're moving from one thing to the next, with very little time to pause and think, then today's episode of The Leader's Kitbag is for you. One of the most common things I hear from clients, whether that's one-to-one coaching or as part of a broader leadership programme, is just how valuable they find it when they're given the time and space to pause. Time to think. Time to step back, and time to reflect. And yet, nearly every time they share that with me, they also go on to say how it kind of feels like a luxury rather than something that is truly necessary, essential even, for effective leadership. I was working with a group recently, and this came up once again. There was a leader in the group who was sharing with me and her colleagues how she really does try to utilise the focus time that Microsoft Outlook gives you. But she went on to say that despite her very best intentions, one of two things tends to happen. Either the time gets taken up with another meeting that someone books in with her, somebody diary crashes her, Or if she does manage to protect the time, then she feels guilty about using it, almost as though she should be doing something more tangible with the time than merely pausing to reflect and think about the broader context of what she's doing. And I think that's something that most of us can relate to, right? Because as leaders, Throughout our career, we've been conditioned to value doing over thinking, whether that's meetings, emails, or any other sort of output. But here's the challenge. Experience doesn't make us better, but reflected experience absolutely does. And if we don't stop to think about what's just happened, Maybe what worked, what didn't work, or maybe what we'd do differently next time. We end up repeating the same patterns and making the same mistakes, both as individuals, as leaders, and within our teams, departments, and businesses. So you see, reflection and taking time to pause isn't a luxury, it's a leadership skill. So how do we make it happen? Well, there are two simple shifts that I've found to help. First, protect the time. Block it out in your diary, just as you would with anything else that matters. Because if you don't block the time, something else will fill it. Secondly, I'd encourage you to be really mindful of what you call that time. And more specifically, how you actually label it in your diary. Because language has a huge effect on how we feel about those activities. And language also has a huge effect on our mental state of mind. If we have it labeled in our diary as focus time, then it feels easy to override or ignore it. On the other hand, If we have a block of time that's labeled in our diary as Weekly Review and Lessons Learned, then that suddenly feels a lot more valuable, even more tangible. And when we do that, it starts to remove some of the friction and guilt we might have around dedicating time to stepping back, pausing, and reflecting just for a few moments. From there, the reflection itself is simple. At the end of a day, a week, or a key moment, just pause for a few moments and ask: What went well? What didn't go as well as I'd have liked it to? And what will I do differently next time? That's it. Because, you see, Leadership isn't just about what we do. Effective leadership is about learning from what we do. And that learning can only happen if we give ourselves the time, the space, and the permission to stop and reflect. That's it for today's episode of The Leader's Kitbag. As always, I hope it's been useful. Look after yourself. And those you've got the privilege and responsibility to lead. And until next time, lead on. Before you head off, if you enjoy the ideas we explore together here on The Leader's Kitbag and you'd like to go a little deeper, then I've created a new leadership programme designed specifically for busy leaders and managers. It focuses on the practical side of leadership, the mindset, skills, and tools that help you support your people, make better decisions, and get the results you're accountable for. The programme is delivered live and online over several half-day sessions, making it practical and perfect to fit in around the day job. If that sounds useful, you can find out more details via the link in the show notes. That's it for now. Hopefully, I'll see you in the next programme very soon. And until then, look after yourself and those you've got the privilege and responsibility to lead.