Want to gain career clarity and level up your leadership in 2025? Your aspirations might be hindered by one critical blind spot.
It is commonplace to reflect on the last year as you set your goals, but your approach to this may be the very thing getting in the way of your progress. In my experience coaching leaders, I find that many of them fall into the trap of ruminating about their performance, rather than thoughtfully reflecting on it. Harvard Business Review states, just 10% of all leaders are self-aware. And as T.S Eliot says, “We had the experience, but we missed the meaning.”
Rumination, and how it impedes leadership maturity
Rumination may feel like reflection, but it is characterised by thinking about a situation or theme repeatedly, obsessing over mistakes, beating yourself up, and engaging in ‘what if’ scenarios.
Susan Nolen-Hoeksema, a psychologist at Yale who has studied the negative impact of rumination defines it as a “maladaptive pattern of responding to distress by repetitively and passively focusing on the meanings, causes, and consequences of one's depressive symptoms rather than actively working toward a solution”. In short, it is an unhelpful approach to engaging with the past.
Reflection, and it’s positive impact on leadership
Reflection, on the other hand, is:
- Intentional.
- Analyses the experience with openness.
- Connects with our innate willingness to learn and progress.
- Fosters self-awareness by constructively processing the past, developing insights, and taking positive action in the future.
My personal experience with reflection
Personally, the art of reflection evolved through my hobby: photography. Noticing my response to light, colours, textures, and patterns taught me mindfulness—both of my surroundings and my inner world. It’s a bit like trying to listen to your own heartbeat at the same time as appreciating the wonder of the world.
How reflection benefits leaders
The simple habit of reflection is transformative. Over time, clients who reflect consistently:
- Build self-awareness.
- Make better decisions.
- Increase confidence and resilience.
- Align their efforts with their organisation’s direction.
Research supports the benefits of intentional reflection. A study performed by Harvard Business School at a call centre found that productivity jumped by up to 25% with a regular reflection practice which included sharing insights with peers. An article by Blanchard illustrates that self-awareness, built through reflection, leads to more promotions.
A daily, three-step reflection practice for leaders
When I start coaching a new leadership client, I encourage them to begin a journalling practice. This is because research shows that writing down one’s thoughts actually slows down the thinking process, giving time for the neural connections required to learn to take hold.
Biochemist and educator James Zull says, “We should remember that writing also has advantages that talking doesn’t. It’s quiet, it’s permanent, it can be reconsidered later. Reflection is, by nature, a slow process because the brain requires time to adjust.”
Reframe your career story
Every day offers us the opportunity of a new story. Beginnings and endings are important parts of any story, so I invite my executive leadership clients to reflect in a journal at the start and close of each workday. It’s a ritual with a structure, so that patterns and trends can be observed.
Before the day
- What am I grateful for?
- What am I inspired by?
- What kind of day do I want today?
End of the day
- What did I do well today?
- What do I want to do differently tomorrow?
- What do I need to let go of?
I encourage them to do this in a spirit of honesty, self-compassion, and humility. And if possible, to regularly share their reflections with a trusted colleague and/or mentor or coach.
The importance of perspective
Additionally, I encourage leadership clients to do things that help keep work worries in perspective, as mostly we worry more than is warranted.
A study by Cornell University found that:
- 85% of the things people worry about never come to pass.
- Of the remaining 15% that do happen, 79% of people find that the challenge is easier to handle than expected, or that they learn something valuable from it.
So, turning towards positive experiences such as catching sunrises and sunsets, playing with children and pets, and listening to music are all mindful activities that remind us that our lives are both precious and brief. Something that helps me stay centred is looking at a photo I took of a beautiful, young mother in Zambia.
It serves as a bookmark, in my journal and reminds me that choosing happiness is an option.
Conclusion
It took me years to realise that reflection is a strategic and creative activity that fosters growth, nurtures leadership capability, and benefits both the individual and the organisation. Rumination, on the other hand, is fuelled by self-doubt, traps leaders in negativity, and limits progress.
Sometimes we think we are reflecting, but often it is ruminating.
A version of this article was published by The CEO Magazine. Read it here.
All photography by Maryanne Mooney
