Keeping a journal can enhance your leadership skills. Writing allows you to explore feelings and ideas privately where they can be thoughtfully considered and effectively evaluated before sharing them with others.
A journal lets you reflect on your leadership style and any adjustments that may be needed to address challenges or opportunities. Journaling helps to release mental stressors and place them on the page where they can be objectively processed. According to an October 29, 2019 Fast Company article, a journal can even improve your health by reducing stress and boosting immunity. Here are tips to help you start a leadership journal.
Be Consistent
Choose a similar time when you can take fifteen to thirty minutes to write about things that you have done well as a leader or can do better. Aim for three to four journaling sessions per week. Write in a quiet area where you are less likely to be bothered, such as your office, a conference room at work, or an out-of-the-way nook at home.
Write Freestyle
Don’t worry about grammar or rhetoric. Just put your thoughts and feelings into words that make sense for contemplation. Focus on topics that are bothersome or intriguing. You can pose a question for consideration or state a position you want to advance or defend at work. Express yourself freely without worrying what others will think.
Be Honest
Avoid putting a positive spin on your feelings or someone’s actions if that is not how you feel. Factually describe your emotions or a situation that you may be excited about or struggling with. Journaling provides an opportunity to closely analyze something that you are not ready to address directly on the job just yet.
Use or Lose Journal Content
Writing helps you delve into leadership issues that can equip you with the necessary tools to perform even better at work. You can consider the pros and cons of new ideas before presenting them to others. Another benefit is you can discard ideas you won’t use after analyzing them. Conversely, you can consult your journal when developing a new concept for inspiration or guidance.
Use your journal to reflect on the workday’s key events or to plan for a bright, productive future.