The Need to Reflect
Just a few centuries ago, most people lived on farms or in agricultural
communities. The yearly cycles created a rhythm to life, and the
seasons took care of people's balances. When the fall moved into
winter it was a quiet time to reflect before springtime activity
returned.
Now today in our 24/7 fast-paced life, we have created a breed
of people - and a breed of executives - who suffer the imbalances
of lots of action with little or no time for reflection.
We see the sequences and consequences of this all around us, in
dangerously multiple ways:
| Personal Consequences |
Company Consequences |
- Stress and Anxiety
- Burn Out
- Health Problem
- Loss of Motivation
- Loss of Commitment & Loyalty
- Accidents
- Loss of self esteem
- Missed Opportunities & pessimism
- Undirected and Unused Energy
- Falling Levels of Satisfaction
|
- Ineffective Communication
- Misunderstandings & Conflicts
- Loss of Productivity
- Deteriorating Service
- Diminishing morale & focus
- System Failures
- Corporate Ethical Breakdown
- Decrease in creativity
- Absenteeism
- Unstable Workforce
|
And the list goes on.
Now this may sound simplistic, but taking time to reflect may save
your staff from many of these syndromes that we are witness to all
the time.
The Benefits of Reflection
The benefits of developing a practice of reflection are exponential.
What’s the ROI on a retreat for reflection? Ask Bill Gates,
who takes now-famous twice yearly week-long retreats to think, read
and reflect “and not do email.” During these times of
reflection, Gates has come to some of his most important realizations
and revelations, including the need to focus Microsoft on the Internet
– almost missing the boat – and later, making the shift
to refocus on security and trustworthy computing.
All true learning and transformation begins with reflection. Most
people though, are not disciplined or experienced enough to do it
on their own; they don’t know how to start a practice of reflection.
Few executives could design for themselves an effective leadership
retreat. This is why we are seeing the return of facilitated leadership
retreats - and our retreats go beyond words. We help you find the
zone of reflection -the place of discovery, empowerment and growth.
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