The Reflective Leader

The Reflective Leader Leadership roles are highly effective roles. By the burden of power, leaders can generally are likely to believe that their word is the last word and will ignore the sane recommendation given to them by their colleagues. In their anxiousness to deliver outcomes, they can ignore their own blind spots and turn out to be insensitive to the emotions of others. They can also are typically arrogant with their own information and expertise, and unconsciously intimidate others. Leaders are additionally human beings after all, and they're as much susceptible to fault as any other individual. We all are inclined to take our objectivity without any consideration. However, the very fact is that our private perceptions can turn out to be self-reinforcing and progressively construct up psychological models. As Peter Senge mentioned, “The eye cannot see the eye.” To do so, we all want a mirror; we all need to construct the ability to reflect. What separates a pacesetter from the rest is the cap acity for self-statement within the complex subject of action and the ability to engage in Socratic dialogue with oneself. Reflection leads to understanding and fixed reflection leads to improved understanding. It helps in processing one’s feelings, understanding them, resolving questions and getting on with work. Self-awareness and the courage to own up to one’s conduct, is the important thing to excel as a reflective leader. Awareness might help leaders to own up, tone down or recast their own habits. Every leader is susceptible and can face adversity at some point in time. It takes plenty of self-management to manage the stress and power dynamics inherent in management. The key is to stay calm and centered. Reflection is one method to construct renewal into your life. Reflection may help to deal with the adversity by preserving self-dignity. Some of the ways of reflecting embody â€" trying again, considering back, and asking for suggestions. Back within the Nineteen Eighties, I attended a program by the Indian Society of Applied Behavior Science, which was a sensitivity training that required members to work in small groups in an unstructured setting. The focus of such human course of labs was essentially to explore one’s behavior in the right here-and-now conditions created by the unstructured setting. This exposure helped me study my own anxieties, fears, prejudices and the impression of my conduct on others. The experience helped me to reflect repeatedly by myself self vis-à-vis my organizational roles, colleagues and subordinates. I also turned increasingly conscious of my prejudices and biases, and commenced to come clean with my actions and behaviors. Such reflections have ready me, each intellectually and emotionally, to deal with the tensions, traumas and turbulence successfully and not run away mid-course. During my tenure as CMD, Bank of Baroda ( ), I was virtually working like a war-time common. In that limited time, I had many miles to go ! We had not solely created an formidable agenda for change, however had been also constrained by strict timelines, as I was to retire quickly. We were doing too many issues too fast, and I was simultaneously performing many roles â€" commanding, directing, motivating, leading and even intimidating sometimes. At this stage, I determined to bear a 360-degree appraisal and requested my friend Dr. T.V. Rao to assist me. Rao’s feedback helped me to mirror on my fashion. In a high octane environment of efficiency coupled with my anxiety to ship, I developed mental models that bordered on rigidities. The reflection helped me to suspend my assumptions and allowed me to accommodate totally different views. It helped me to promote better dialogue and seek larger involvement of people in the duties readily available. Continuous reflection at the top of our transformation program helped me relate to folks and their problems at an emotional degree. Leadership roles require selling group work amongst various and talented individuals, using their collective intelligence in achieving the corporate targets. They need larger humility and the flexibility to listen to others. In a shifting reality of the enterprise world, leaders need to create a new cocktail of experience, expertise, summary thinking and creativity of young minds. Reflective apply is as necessary to leaders as yoga is to create harmony in our body system. It requires personal discipline and continuous apply. Mere educational qualification or technical expertise is never enough to steer individuals and produce out one of the best in them. Leaders should be considerate, reflective and have the courage to personal their pitfalls and continuously work on them. This article was first printed in People Matters in March 2012 and can be learn at: /articles/leadership/leadership-and-management/the-reflective-chief â€" Dr. Anil K. Khandelwal is an HR skilled who made it to CEO of Bank of Baroda (BOB), a staid large public sector financial institution, and turned it out in a short tenure of three years. His guide “Dare to Lead” (Sage 2011) captures his experience of the turnaround. Enter your e-mail address: