Idea in summary
- Buy a journal.
- Commit to reflecting for 15 minutes a day. This is by far the most difficult step. So if 15 minutes initially seems impossible, start with three minutes. But start somewhere.
- Find a quiet place where you won’t be interrupted.
- Choose the right time, preferably the same time each day when you won’t be disturbed. Pick a time that works for you, but keep those 15 minutes carefully guarded in your agenda as an appointment with yourself.
- Write whatever comes to mind. A journal’s blank pages invite you to hold an honest conversation with yourself every day. In the journal, you can say anything. So give yourself permission to follow your stream of consciousness without judging, censoring, or trying to direct where your thoughts might take you. In my best reflection sessions, I feel like I am peering over my hand, just waiting to discover what I’ll write next. And don’t worry about grammar; however you express yourself is fine.
- Don’t share your journal with anyone. Your reflections are yours; they are not for anyone else. They bring you what all the world’s experts, advisers, and executive coaches combined can’t offer you: your own unique perspective.
If you find yourself not knowing how to begin when you’re facing the journal’s blank pages, here are some suggestions:
Ask yourself a trigger question, and capture your response. These are some of my favorite questions:
- How am I feeling right now?
- How am I feeling about my leadership?
- What deserves my highest-quality attention…
- in my leadership?
- in my life?
- in the world?
- What is the most outrageous (or fun or novel) idea I’ve heard in the last 24 hours? What do I love about it?
- What is the most exciting initiative I’ve heard about this week that is happening outside of my industry or in another part of the world?
- What contributed most to my happiness this week (or to the happiness of my people)? How can I have more happiness in my life?
- Let art ignite your imagination. Art invites leaders to go beyond the frantic busyness of life. Viewing paintings and other forms of art offers possibilities to experiment with new perspectives. If I really focus on a painting, what do I see? If I connect what I’m seeing with my current situation, what new vantage points does the painting reveal?
Using Art
- Choose a painting (or other work of art). Let your eye rest on a work of art that attracts you for any reason whatsoever (because you love it, you hate it, or for a reason that is unknown to you).
- Observe the painting uninterrupted for at least three minutes. Time yourself! Three minutes may feel like a very long time.
- Strengthen your ability to see. Describe the painting: What did you see? How did it seem to change as you viewed it? What were you able to see at the end of the three minutes that you didn’t notice when you first chose the painting?
- Ask bridging questions. What new perspectives does the painting reveal? For example: How is the current situation in the economy (or in my company or team) like this painting?
- How does the painting’s complexity reflect the hidden complexity in our recent tri-continental merger?
- In what ways does the painting reveal opportunities we are missing in transitional economies? Let yourself be surprised by the insights that emerge.
My reflections and thoughts
- How am I feeling right now? - Good about what I did and happened to me in last few weeks
- How am I feeling about my leadership? - I have reached my strength zone in terms of an individual contributor and need to take to next level
- What deserves my highest-quality attention…
- in my leadership? - people around me
- in my life? - family
- in the world? - any good knowledge nugget
- What is the most outrageous (or fun or novel) idea I’ve heard in the last 24 hours? What do I love about it? - Sachin's biography
- What is the most exciting initiative I’ve heard about this week that is happening outside of my industry or in another part of the world? - An Indian making the Olympics gymnastic team
- What contributed most to my happiness this week (or to the happiness of my people)? How can I have more happiness in my life?- Time spent at work and home with Ruchi
