3 Ways To Pause And Observe To Be A Better Leader

Written by: Omu Obilor, Executive Contributor

Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.

Often as a leader, you may get overwhelmed and suffer from severe burnout frequently. The business world is fast-paced, extra-demanding, and ever-changing. As the burden from work increases, so does the stress levels that decrease our performance. To be consistent in bringing great results and scaling your business, you must give yourself enough time to reflect, pause, and bring in mental clarity. But nobody will tell you to give yourself a break. You need to know when and how to listen to your mind and body. Keeping that in mind, here are the three ways to pause and reflect to be a better leader.

1. Plan it out with your team

Make your team a part of the Observe and Pause session. Many times when you think it’s time to take a break, your team can treat it as an unexpected and unnecessary slow-down, especially during high-pressure. So, it’s important for you to convey about the pausing to your team as well. They need to value and expect it as much as you do. You need to explain to them that such pauses give you time to reflect and learn from the experience. Set aside a particular time in your calendar for such sessions and suspend your calls and emails during that period. Empower your team to use their own pause time effectively.

2. Take time to reflect

Once your team is familiar with the concept of pause and observe, it is time to dive a little into the reflection part. Ask your team to think about the projects and programs of the present, past, and future. What have they learned? How can they do it differently to bring in even better results? You could ask them to reflect on the emails sent a year ago and find the learnings from them. Or you could reflect on your company’s failures and how they improved your performance when you learned from them. Or how each of your projects has brought value to your company as well as helped in your staff’s growth. The more you reflect, the more you learn.

3. Wind up successfully

Once the self-reflection session is over, take detailed feedback from your team and also share yours. Are there areas that your company needs to focus on? Are there uncertainties and hidden assumptions in some of your programs? What are your company’s future goals? What failed? How can you improve it next time? Make the session open and inquisitive so that everyone can participate. And don’t forget to welcome constructive criticism and be free of the blame-game culture. Such sessions will highlight the areas where you and your team are lagging and what you can improve on.

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Omu Obilor, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine

Omu is an International Coach, Speaker, Trainer, and Thought Leader. Her mantra is “Living my best life," this she achieves by living Intentionally.

Her mission in life is to empower others to live their best life, curating the life they want for themselves.

As a founding member of the John Maxwell Team, she has mastered intentional living in personal and professional life.

She performs the role of Executive Director and National Trainer in Business Network International (BNI), which empowered her to master training networking.

Omu has, over the years, poured out her all into the lives of her clients. Walking them through the various transitions in life and mentoring them through the transformation. She is driven by her passion for helping individuals realize that it is possible to live the life they dream of.

Extremely passionate about Transformation in people, she works tirelessly to see this through.

Her approach is designed to increase awareness and accountability to increase morale and determine values.

She runs a mentormind group for women looking to grow in their personal and professional lives. She also runs masterminds monthly, amongst others.