A Gift of Reflection: Three Questions to Close the Year
I’m reflecting…with a view.
Take a break from juggling the demands of the holiday season, the work you’re trying to complete by year-end, and your personal, aspirational to-do lists. You can sit alone with a cool glass of wine or hot latte or go on a solo walk and take some time to reflect.
Ask yourself three questions:
1. What did you do this year that you are most proud of?
2. What did you learn this year – in general or about yourself?
3. What was the best decision you made this year?
Note the first answer that comes to mind, and dig a little deeper. You may be surprised at the number of possible answers or the clarity of one clear answer.
Unlike a review of your progress towards the annual performance goals – or a best/worst question set (both of which are valuable). Answering these three questions will give you some unique personal insight and some that you may want to share with your team.
Q1 - How does the achievement you are “most proud of” align with your values?
Sometimes, what we are most proud of is not the accomplishment that received accolades. Yes, you closed the big deal and delivered the project ahead of time, but the personal highlight for you was your team’s engagement score or something outside of work.
Occasionally, our greatest achievements were not on our list of goals but grew from how we rose to a challenge or opportunity.
Observe, be curious - you don't need to do anything else.
Q2 - Did you inventory all you have learned this year?
Early in our careers – we tend to focus on acquiring credentials or skills to keep moving up the ladder. You may find it harder to assess the skills you’ve gained that make you a more empathetic leader, disciplined decision-maker, time manager or master communicator. Include learning a sport that took you out of your comfort zone, a new creative outlet or mastering the AI in your life.
Celebrate the list – and decide if you want to turn more attention to it in the future. If you desire to be a lifelong learner, feeding your curiosity takes time and conscious effort.
Q3 - What made your “best” decision the best decision?
For most of us, it’s the outcome. It’s human nature to feel better about a decision that turned out well. We don’t tend to recognize when we made good decisions, but a variable out of our control (luck, chance, or an act of mother nature) impacted the outcome.
This is important for leaders to recognize. There are likely many decisions that you would make again – with the same set of facts (which does not include a crystal ball).
Good decisions benefit from disciplined decision-making and investing time in frameworks. They increase the speed and consistency of your decision and the likelihood that you will make more good decisions.
I hope this reflection leaves you feeling positive about your accomplishments and curious about how you’ll use the insight in the year ahead.
