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How to Use Self-Reflection for Personal Growth These Days

Turn the mirror on yourself for up-to-the-minute growth. Discover the power of self-reflection

Self-reflection is like looking in a mirror, not to scrutinise your appearance, but to understand your inner-self.

Here are three contemporary ways to use self-reflection for personal growth that’s current and relevant:

  • Identify Strengths: Reflect on your achievements and successes. What skills and qualities helped you reach these heights? These strengths are like the big branches of your personal growth tree.
  • Recognise Weaknesses: It’s equally important to acknowledge areas for improvement. Don’t see these as failures, because doing that makes it hard to accept and learn from the experience. Instead, think of them as the roots, nourishing your growth tree so it can become stronger.
  • Set Goals for Improvement: Once you’ve identified your strengths and weaknesses, set specific, achievable goals for growth. These are the fruits you aim to harvest from your tree that will keep you up-to-the-minute next time around.

Remember, self-reflection is a powerful tool for personal growth.

Use it wisely, and you’ll see your growth tree flourish now and in future.

What’s one personal growth goal you have for 2023? Share in the comments below while they’re open or @ me on twitter –  and let’s grow together.

When Asking, Telling and Suggesting Still Don’t Get Results

Deciding what to do when someone persistently doesn’t deliver at work can actually be really difficult!

That’s because:

  • We start wondering if it’s something wrong with our own management or leadership style;
  • It’s hard to tell if we’re being too soft and laid-back, or the opposite – if our annoyance and frustration is leaking out too strongly;
  • It’s exhausting!
  • And if you ask Human Resources about the company’s “Performance Management Process”, it begins to feel like you’ve already failed somewhere (and you worry that HR might think so too).

A short programme of one-to-one or team coaching can help get over that by:

  • Creating a safe space for individuals to express, and then start moving beyond, any frustrations;
  • Discovering whether the problem is:
    1. An interpersonal one – some people are simply not getting on;
    2. Structural – there are processes that don’t function properly, or conflicting requirements that block progress;
    3. Competence-based – there are skills, abilities or techniques that need to be acquired; or
    4. Confidence-based – self-belief, motivation or self-limiting habits might be getting in the way.
  • Developing more effective (and fulfilling) ways of approaching things all round.

If you’d like to know more about this approach, have someone else who is (or are yourself) in this kind of situation at work, please click here to get in touch.