The Poetry of Leadership: Reflection

Conscious leadership invites us into greater presence and attentiveness towards our movements, our options, and the impacts that rumble in our wake. It’s important work beyond the noise of immediacy, the endless “to do’s,” that pull at us day after day. In building capacity for self-reflection you’re able to lead with greater awareness, guiding your team into deeper levels of organizational reflection and, ultimately, business effectiveness.

Reflection is such an integral part of the leadership journey that the unexamined leader is really no leader at all. There is no magical pill or short cut or quick fix that can transform you into a better leader. The truth is, it takes a willingness to wrestle with your own shadows, and joys, with great compassion and courage.

John O’Donohue’s poem “At the End of a Day: A Mirror of Questions” invites this deeper level of reflection as a practice in examination of consciousness.

Before you venture into this poem, take a moment to breathe out the weight and busyness of your day and drop into your body — into this moment you are in.

As you read, rest into the slow pace and cadence of his words. These are not the insomniatic ruminations that tend to seize us in the middle of the night. Rather, his words invite an intentional reflective space around what’s meaningful and purposeful in our lives and how we’re living this out.

What end of day questions invite you to consider more directly your alignment with your own leadership vision?

“At the End of the Day: A Mirror of Questions”
by John O’Donohue

What dreams did I create last night?
Where did my eyes linger today?
Where was I blind?
Where was I hurt without anyone noticing?
What did I learn today?
What did I read?
What new thoughts visited me?
What differences did I notice in those closest to me?
Whom did I neglect?
Where did I neglect myself?
What did I begin today that might endure?
How were my conversations?
What did I do today for the poor and the excluded?
Did I remember the dead today?
Where could I have exposed myself to the risk of something different?
Where did I allow myself to receive love?
With whom today did I feel the most myself?
What reached me today? How deep did it imprint?
Who saw me today?
What visitations had I from the past and from the future?
What did I avoid today?
From the evidence, why was I given this day?

Originally published at https://www.trueformleadership.com on May 26, 2019.