Journaling Can Boost Your Leadership Skills
Our lives are awash in digital. Each
electronic pulse pushes us to respond instantly. Reply. Like. Share. There is
seemingly no beginning and no end to the onslaught. But the beauty of the human
brain isn’t its ability to render snap judgment and instantly weigh in on a
topic electronically. Quite the opposite. Its greatest capacity is a higher level
of thought: to process disparate bits of information, find patterns, and create
meaningful dialog and action over time. All of this serves to boost our
leadership skills.
This ability flows from our natural
hardwiring. To benefit from it, you only need to slow down and let your inner
genius emerge. To be sure, easing the pace of life is not so simple when
bosses, subordinates, and family members assume you’ll be available online
24/7.
It’s time to slow down and reset
expectations. But how?
A
practice I have found useful, as have many of my executive education students
and coaching clients, is centuries old: keeping a journal. Setting aside as
little as 10 minutes a day to record your thoughts stimulates reflection
critical to making sense of the fast-moving world around you, which is, in
turn, essential to effective leadership. As a leader, you are challenged to
perceive patterns from which opportunities and threats emerge. This, in part, makes
you worthy of following.
Despite
our current proclivity for keyboards and powerful computer processors,
journaling is an activity best suited for pen on paper. In this case, analog
beats digital because writing something down by hand triggers
a part of the brain, known as the reticular activation system, to pay close attention, and may improve retention.
Tapping keys doesn’t have the same effect.
Further, journaling engages the analytical,
rational functions of the brain, which gives the more creative parts of your
cranium space and time to work their magic. Neuroscientists have shown that
this type of “mindful concentration” stimulates the parts of the brain that are
active when not engaged in directed activity. This is why insights often pop up
while you are in the shower, out for a run, or sitting with your journal.
In
this way, journaling is an exercise that lets you articulate feelings, which
can mitigate
their stress-inducing effects; work
through challenges; and test options. Also, moving away from your computer or
smartphone relieves you of the distractions of email alerts and other digital
noise. At its best, a journaling practice creates sacred space for developing a
deeper understanding of yourself and the world around you, both at work and at
home.
The
trick is to see journaling as an opportunity, not a chore. It is, first and
foremost, for you. Only when you are grounded in who you are — your values,
purpose, aspirations, strengths, and fears — can you be the authentic
leader worth following. Part of getting there is
giving your brain time to process the onslaught of data with which it is
barraged every day. Journaling helps you do just that, as it allows you
to garner
the benefits of both focus and “unfocus.”
There
is an I/we dynamic that enables the benefits of journaling to scale. For
example, a semi-structured journaling session could be based on three ritual questions: When did I feel strongest today? When did I feel
weakest? What does this tell me about myself? Modified slightly, you could ask
similar questions on alternate days: When was my team at its best today? When
was it at its worst? What does this tell us about ourselves, our customers, or
our market? Contemplating these questions and jotting down your thoughts,
without worrying about spelling or grammar, helps you tap more of your
cognitive capacity as you learn through writing. If that is too much structure,
simply let your thoughts flow and be alert for emerging patterns. It is
interesting to go back through your notes every quarter or so to see
trends and remember both high and low points.
The
first reaction to the suggestion of keeping a journal is often that there isn’t
enough time. To that I reply: How much time did you spend writing emails today?
Or posting on Facebook? There is time if you want there to be. It is a bit of
self (not selfish) time with numerous benefits, including improved memory,
enhanced cognition, and perhaps
even better physical health.
LinkedIn
CEO Jeff Weiner reports that he spends 90
to 120 minutes each day reflecting. I
don’t know if he uses a journal. If not, I suggest he do so in order to capture
his insights.
There is no perfect once-size-fits-all
journal or one right way to journal, so I encourage you to experiment. After
trying several methods and books, here is how I now use a standard, ruled
journal:
• At the beginning of each month, I use one
page to write down my overarching goals for the next four weeks.
• On
the facing page, I take about 30 minutes to reflect on and write my personal
manifesto, which articulates my purpose and
motivations, updating it from previous versions as I feel necessary.
• On
the next spread, I lay out my plan for the week. On the top half of the two
pages, I create a calendar where I can note appointments, travel plans, and
other time-specific events. On the bottom, I make a task list with
modified Bullet Journal
symbols. Carryover items from the previous week are
followed by a number that indicates how many weeks each has been on the list. A
number bigger than two prompts an examination of why I’m not getting something
done — and whether it’s really worth doing.
• The last four lines of the right-hand page
are reserved for gratitude. I try to capture three to four things for which I
am grateful each week.
• Subsequent pages are used for meeting and
project notes along with various thoughts and ideas. At least 10 minutes each
day are reserved for reflection, and these pages are the ideal space.
• At the beginning of a new week and month, I
start the process again using the next available spread.
This approach keeps everything in one place
and fosters feedback loops that integrate “being” (who you are and what you
value as a human being) and “doing” (your meetings, projects, daily activities,
and making connections between your larger purpose and specific goals).
While
digital is dizzying and often encourages us to speed up, analog is reassuringly
grounding and provides space for reflection and contemplation. Annie McKee,
author of How
to Be Happy at Work, told me, “Overwork and
stress are epidemic. That means we’re not at our best emotionally, physically,
or mentally. The antidote is to focus on activities that help us slow down,
calm down, and reflect. Doing that, and staying away from the to-do tasks,
centers you on the future, hope, and relationships. It triggers changes in the
brain that help us deal with the stress.”
Leaders are wise to note what a little quiet
time alone with a notebook and pen can yield.
Eric J. McNulty
https://www.strategy-business.com/blog/Journaling-Can-Boost-Your-Leadership-Skills?gko=e748f&utm_source=itw&utm_medium=20180517&utm_campaign=resp
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