The Practice of Reflection - Future Ready Leadership

Descartes famously said: “I think, therefore I am.”

Descartes’ reasoning takes us to a logical and powerful next step for leaders: “I reflect, therefore I act with intention and purpose.”

Reflection leads us to purposeful action. Purposeful action can change the world.

Thinking comes naturally to humans. In fact, we can’t avoid thinking even when we try. Every day, researchers say, we have some 50,000 thoughts. This is the raw material of reflection.

Most of those thoughts are trivial. But reflection is a choice of when and where to focus, and a practice that calls on all the skills of a good life.

Reflection begins with thinking, but then takes our thoughts deeper and makes them more robust. When we reflect on any situation, we explore it from many different angles and perspectives.

Reflection also allows us to revisit our experiences and creates vast opportunity for us to learn and grow from them. That’s why we so often think of reflection as a gateway to wisdom.

When we reflect, we not only make sense of the past and observe the present; we also forge a path to the future.

Reflection often leads us to newfound empathy, helps us to experience the world in multidimensional ways, and motivates us to enlarge ourselves by forging relationships and projects with others.

In this module, we will explore ways to connect with our deepest selves and with others, by developing our powers of reflection.

As you explore your Reflective Practice, take advantage of the readings, videos, and activities in this unit. Read them in the order presented or skip around. Read them in one sitting or explore one a day. Explore them alone or join a group of peers in the program.

Using this site. For instructions on how to get access to the restricted-access material for this program, click here.

Micro-Lessons for Reflection