We tend to romanticize leadership. When friends are promoted to managerial positions, we slap them on the back, tell them that they finally made it, and congratulate them for their hard work. Our reactions are understandable. Occupying a leadership role often comes with more prestige, financial resources, flexibility, and future employment opportunities. We often forget, however, that there is a flipside to this coin — leadership is hard and exhausting work.
How Self-Reflection Can Help Leaders Stay Motivated
Occupying a leadership role often comes with more prestige, money, and flexibility. We often forget, however, that leadership is hard and exhausting work. A team of researchers tested a short daily intervention to see if it would help leaders remain energized throughout the day at work. Leaders take a few minutes in the morning to think and write about three things that they like about themselves and that make them a “good leader.” Leaders wrote about personal qualities (e.g., “I am willing to take a stand in the face of injustice”), skills (e.g., “I consider others’ opinions”), and achievements (“I helped my team during a crisis”). Leaders in the study reported feeling less depleted and more engaged, and the results lasted into the evening.