AN ACTIVE PROCESS

The second technique for acquiring leadership wisdom is reflection.

In 1988, researchers at CCL conducted a study called the Lessons of Experience; participants were leaders in Fortune 500 companies. The researchers observed that “it is staggering to think how much experience is wasted simply because managers aren't allowed or forced to stop and make sense of what happened.” More experience does not necessarily guarantee more learning. To learn from experience, leaders need to go beyond description and reflect on the experiences they acquire.

For some people the idea of reflection might conjure images of solitary activity—sitting under a tree, for example, or being alone in a room. This is not the case.

Reflection does not take ...

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