Are you a leader of people?
Are you an influential leader? Influential doesn’t always mean you have direct reports. It means you collaborate with and guide others toward outcomes, often without formal authority. This ability to influence is essential for moving initiatives forward and being successful in your role.
Hint: we are all influential leaders!
This applies in the workplace, in your community, and at home. For example, parents—especially of teenagers—quickly learn that influence is far more powerful than control. The same principle applies to managers, project leads, and peers working across departments.
Too often we think leadership means being “the one in charge” with a team reporting to you. In reality, the most effective leaders know that influence, not control, is what drives collaboration, innovation, and long-term results.
One area all leaders have in common is working with people. Whether it’s direct reports or those you’re influencing to move initiatives and projects forward, managing and influencing people is a complex skill set—one you learn and refine over time.
Leaders are not mind readers. People are many shades of gray, shaped by their unique experiences, perspectives, and stories.
Every individual sees the world through their own lens, influenced by both their career and personal life. Effective leaders embrace this complexity and work to understand, adapt, and connect.
Leadership can also reach frustration and overwhelm quickly.
With constant technological change, leaders are stretched thin—running from meeting to meeting while processing an overwhelming amount of information.
The human mind was not designed to handle this relentless pace with clarity.
In such a fast-paced world, we’ve lost the art of slowing down. Reflection has become a forgotten tool.
Slowing down can feel archaic when demands push us to go faster and faster.
But the question remains: What are we missing by moving so fast? How would you even know what’s slipping past you when life is lived at lightning speed?
One underutilized tool for leaders is keeping a journal. Not typing notes into a phone or laptop—but physically writing in a journal with a physical pen and paper.
The physical act of writing slows down the mind automatically.
It creates space for reflection, and helps leaders process their experiences, challenges, and decisions in a deeper way.
It allows leaders to know and understand their unique perspectives. Which in turn will enhance their decision making every day.
A leader’s unique perspective is the source of creativity and competitive advantage.
In today’s AI world, tapping into creativity and having a competitive advantage is paramount.
Without slowing down and using journaling as a tool, we lose the art of listening to ourselves and our innate wisdom.
How do you create a discipline of journaling?
- Don’t over complicate it!
- Buy a journal.
- Set aside 15 minutes of uninterrupted time either at the beginning or end of your day to journal.
- Block that time on your calendar!
- Close your computer.
- Silence your notifications on your phone.
- Set a timer for 15 minutes.
- Write.
“Ok, great”, you might say. “But, what in the world do I write about? Especially when this feels like a weird, new thing to do?”
Great question!
Journal Prompts for Leaders.
Pick one to get started. What you journal about could either be personal or professional.
- What has been at the forefront of my mind today?
- What is keeping me up at night?
- What has been a common theme this week/last week?
- What are my priorities? Do those priorities stack up against the work I’m doing and meetings I’m attending?
- What needs to change?
- What am I missing?
- What is a circular thought pattern I’m having that I can’t find a solution?
Bonus Tips:
- Let yourself write whatever comes to mind.
- Do not have an agenda.
- No judgements in what you write about or don’t write about.
- Let the writing flow.
- Don’t be surprised if you start writing about one topic and you finish on another topic.
- Trust the process.
- Trust that whatever you write down is exactly what needed to be written and reflected upon.
- You just might surprise yourself.
Asking ourselves questions and slowing down to reflect brings us back to what is meaningful, what we believe in, and overall gives us purpose.
And if leaders reconnect to their purpose, that purpose will flow through them to those they influence. <– this is motivating and inspiring! It will have a ripple effect on your team and those you work alongside.
And all of this is a great ROI!
Challenge: Commit to journaling 15 minutes everyday for a month. Then, reflect on how it helped and enhanced your leadership.
In a world where we feel like we can’t slow down, it’s often exactly what leaders need.
For more reasons to journal, check this blog post: 12 Reasons to Keep a Journal
