![]() It requires leaders to carve out time to ask and answer questions that explore assumptions, gaps and opportunities for learning and create solutions or processes to address. It invites us to ask, “Have I created the container and set up the processes to get the results and performance I am looking for?” Self-reflection is critical for leadership development and it’s a practice that can strengthen team relationships. We’ve talked about self-awareness as being the most important leadership trait. Self-reflection is the path to self-awareness. It’s front-end loaded and may not be the natural starting point if your first instinct is to look outward rather than inward. It’s not easy self-reflection is hard work. So, what if there was another way? When as a leader you are struggling to get the quality of work or the results you expect, instead of reflecting on the deficiencies in others, what if you started with self-reflection as a first step? And the problem with blame is it lives in the past, assumes people are the problem, and is often assigned before all the facts are known. Blame is an accountability and trust killer and, if the follow-on action is unfair punishment, then you also kill the learning. The trouble with fixing and solving is not only is there no meaningful learning involved for the team member, but chances are also good that we are jumping to the solution or fix without clearly defining the problem and understanding the ‘why’ behind it. We know the role of the leader is to lead teams to results that positively impact the organization. So when team members miss the mark, overlook important details, deliver sub-standard work, make mistakes or fail to see critical connections, we are naturally drawn to those deficiencies. The impulse is to quickly fix the problem and find a solution or, even worse, hand out blame or punishment. ![]() I came to realize the failure was not my writing skills but that I had no idea what the expectations were, and I got no feedback or corrective coaching. I had clearly missed the mark but wasn’t sure how or why, not even after reading the final version. I felt inadequate as a writer and that I had let my manager down. I did my research and poured my heart into it only to have it completely re-written, except for one sentence the manager saw fit to use. I remember early in my career being asked to write an article on a complex topic. By Catherine Ducharme Executive Coaching Leadership Leadership Coaching Marketing + Communications Leadership Team Development May 3, 2021
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