December brings performance reviews, budget cycles, and planning for next year. All of it looks outward and forward. What it rarely includes is a genuine look inward — at how you led, not just what you delivered.
Here’s the reflection I recommend to every leader I coach. Find ninety minutes, close the door, and answer these honestly.
Looking back
- What am I most proud of — not in results, but in how I showed up?
- When did I lead at my best this year? What was present in those moments?
- When did I lead at my worst? What triggered it?
- What did I tolerate that I shouldn’t have?
- Whose growth did I make possible?
Write the answers by hand if you can. It slows your thinking down in a useful way.
Noticing patterns
Look across your answers. You’ll often see a theme: perhaps you were at your best when you had time to think and at your worst when you were overscheduled. Perhaps the thing you tolerated is connected to a conversation you avoided.
Patterns are where development lives. Single events are noise; repeated ones are information.
Looking ahead
Then ask one question about next year: What kind of leader do I want people to describe in twelve months?
Not what you want to achieve. Who you want to be. Write three words. Keep them somewhere visible.
If you’d like a structured starting point, the Leadership Balance Wheel takes four minutes and gives you a visual snapshot to reflect on. Many leaders find it’s a useful companion to this exercise.
Whatever you discover, be generous with yourself. Reflection without self-compassion turns into self-criticism, and self-criticism rarely produces growth.