If you think that self-reflection is “fluff,” you may want to reconsider. Research and practical application show that it is one of the most reliable tools for performance available – anytime, anywhere and at no cost.
If you had asked me five years ago if I took time for self-reflection or wrote in a journal, I would have rolled my eyes and said, “I don’t have time for that.”
But I was preparing a program for a CIO of a global fintech company and his team, and I was looking for the most effective evidence-based wellness techniques that also have a direct influence on professional performance.
Study after study found that self-reflection and journaling influence mental, spiritual and emotional wellness AND they influence performance and enhance leadership capacity.
I’ll be honest – I was not happy with these findings. I did not want to add another habit to my routine, but I will not recommend a technique to someone that I haven’t tried and found to be personally valuable. After some grumbling, I committed to a daily journaling practice – only until the program was complete.
To my surprise, the program launched and was successful. I was off the hook, but I didn’t want to stop!
The benefits I found are expansive – my mindset, my ability to see the bigger picture, my resilience during really challenging times AND the impact these things have on my ability to perform and show up as my best self are what keep me, and so many of my clients, coming back.
What the Research Shows
Researchers at Harvard Business School set out to test a simple hypothesis: that combining learning by doing with learning by thinking would improve performance more learning by doing alone.
They were right. Participants who spent just a few minutes after a working session reflecting in writing on what they had learned, significantly outperformed those who simply kept working. In one field study, employees in a training program who added daily written reflection performed more than 20 percent better on their final assessment than those who did not.
The researchers found something else worth noting: when participants shared their reflections with others, they got an additional boost. Reflection compounds when it is part of the conversation.
Why It Works
Experience on its own is raw material. Reflection is what turns it into learning.
When we pause to examine what we did, why it worked or did not, and what we would do differently, we codify the lesson and make it usable. Without that pause, we tend to repeat both our successes AND our mistakes without understanding either.
Reflection also builds confidence.
Looking back on what we have navigated, especially on our challenges, gives us concrete evidence of our own growth. It is almost impossible to appreciate how far we have come unless we look back at where we started.
The Leadership Angle
When our days are full, reflection is usually the first thing to go. It can feel indulgent or like something we will get to when the real work is done.
Don’t let yourself fall into that trap. The research tells a different story: reflection is not a break from performance. It is a driver of it.
For leaders, reflection is a double lever:
- Your own practice sharpens your clarity and decision-making.
- Modeling it with your team gives them the time and space to learn out loud, build genuine connection and reinforce psychological safety.
Three minutes. A pen. A few honest questions. It is one of the highest-return investments I know.
Putting It Into Practice
This does not require an hour of quiet you do not have, a week-long retreat or any fancy equipment. It simply requires about few minutes to answer three questions:
- Reflect on a task, project or life event that you recently completed or worked through. What did you do to move forward?
- Where were you most effective, and what made that possible?
- What areas were challenging, or even ineffective, and how did you manage through that?
