A study of penalty shoot outs found that keepers who stay in the centre, instead of leaping left or right, have a 33% chance of stopping the goal. Yet, keepers only remain in the centre 6% of the time. So why do keepers leap when it would be better to stay put? And how does this observation relate to leadership development?

Why reflect?

Well, leaders are not that different from keepers. They have a bias for action; they prefer to do something instead of doing nothing. They cannot see the point of staying still when there is so much to do. They cannot justify to themselves setting aside 10 minutes of their time to reflect and make meaning of what happened during the day.

Yet, the evidence shows that making time to reflect actually increases productivity. Research in call centres demonstrated that employees who spent 15 minutes at the end of the day reflecting about lessons learned performed 23% better after 10 days than those who did not. A study of UK commuters found a similar result; those who used their commute to think about and plan for their day were happier, more productive, and less burned out than those who didn’t.

So, how do you start?

Most probably, you are driven by your calendar. So, why don’t you put those 10 minutes of reflection time in your schedule? Perhaps at the same time, every day? Just start small. Find a reflection process that works for you. You can sit, walk, bike, or stand, alone or with a partner, writing, talking, or thinking. And don’t feel embarrassed to ask for help.

Life must be lived forwards but it can only be understood backwards …