By Sukaiyna Gokal
Self-reflection may seem like a luxury in your packed schedule, but what if it’s the missing key to stronger leadership? Sukaiyna Gokal invites you to pause, go inward, and realign with your values. Because real power isn’t loud—it’s aware, intentional, and deeply rooted in self-understanding.
I read an anonymous quote during a rare quiet moment on a sunny Tuesday afternoon: “Minds, books and umbrellas only work when they are open.” I found the visual impact of the books and umbrellas to be a powerful metaphor to measure against the mind, which truly challenges us as it remains elusive and intangible. Having the necessary space to take distance, make time, and step into a pragmatic and common-sense journey of self-reflection is fundamental not only to our own well-being, but also to nurture our qualitative capacity with all those that surround us.
It may feel like an oxymoron since the thought of leadership immediately suggests credibility in its succinct and powerful decision-making ability, while exuding a sense of safety and authority, with absolute confidence. However, when with a childlike mind, we remember Spiderman’s Uncle’s famous saying, “With great power comes great responsibility”, we are led to pause and reflect. Responsibility, defined as the ability to respond appropriately, begs us to question how we may master all the roles we carry at the core of any leadership role, without any self-reflection.
A leader often prides themselves on the fact that their strongest ally is their ego mind as opposed to toying with and becoming friends with the benefit of the doubt, a worthy companion. Humility, commonly considered as weakness, often gets lost in a brazen attitude of “I am right” or “I am perfect.” A strong leader who becomes friends with the benefit of the doubt and uses vulnerability as a flexible strength prevents the blind spots that lead to recipes for disaster. It becomes possible to safely navigate any stormy waters or icebergs with resilience and wisdom as it opens us to our third eye. Our state of mind intuits our sound decision-making ability with panoramic visibility. It is only a still mind that has the potential to develop this superpower.
Self-reflection helps leaders reconnect with their core motivations, fuelling resilience during challenging times. It promotes a growth mindset, which encourages leaders to learn from both successes and failures. Self-reflection enables leaders to gain a clear understanding of their strengths and weaknesses. It helps them leverage their abilities and address areas for improvement. This is fundamental in adapting to new situations, which is a constant in our unstable era.
We have reached a time where it is imperative to take distance in order to have the 50,000 feet view, the 5,000 feet view and the 50 feet birds eye view of any situation; be it retrospectively or pro-actively. A leader has to see the bigger picture and respond thoughtfully rather than react impulsively. Reflective leaders are more likely to act in alignment with their values, fostering authenticity and trust within their teams. Balance with buoyancy.
Self-reflection means you are taking nothing for granted. You question everything, which fashions a natural urge to constantly strive for improvement by reflecting on how you are doing things. This, in turn, creates a culture that orchestrates the values that resonate throughout the organisation. It is the leadership that creates the culture, which is constantly evolving, hence requires a conductor who is crystal clear on the complexities of his/her own rhythm. The Leader is the mirror for the people they are guiding, hence rather than cultivating a culture of fear and blame, we shine the light that allows self-accountability and anchors positive self-growth collectively. This can only be successfully achieved with consistent and constant self-reflection.
Our capability to adopt various perspectives and to adapt from managerial topics to other life subjects is rare and necessary. The quality of unique tools we may use to pave the journey of any subject is extremely relevant and useful to reframe issues. Furthermore, in deeply understanding the strategic end game and finding the appropriate approaches in solving problems, we develop the agility and the capability to deal with ambiguity while mirroring subjects with proven efficiencies in:
- Our decision-making process becomes more assertive.
- Our managerial skills, which are broadened by adopting a larger scope of understanding others.
- Our entrepreneurship capacity being reinforced by more self-confidence.
- Our understanding of new trends and the creative part of our job.
- Our work/life balance may surge drastically.
By continuously self-improving we are modernising the business and our leadership style. We have different leadership styles for different moments to understand and beat challenges that we are confronted with, whilst gaining more wisdom and happiness in our personal life. The benefits are multiple and drastically change our level of performance and the understanding of our environment.
You may be thinking to yourself that this is wishful thinking since time is scarce. Slow is fast and fast is slow. When we do something in a rushed manner it takes longer because we make mistakes that require correction, hence we delay the process. When we take things slowly, we achieve them efficiently and with lightning speed. Let’s take a minute to contemplate this, adjust the tempo going forward and gift ourselves with time to self-reflect.
Sukaiyna Gokal
