Why does personal reflection matter in business?

For centuries, people have resonated with the Greek wisdom of Socrates: “To know thyself is the beginning of wisdom.” 17th century physicist, writer, inventor, and mathematician Basil Pascal joined the choir stating, “All of humanity‘s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” And a modern McKinsey report states the first step leaders must take to create high-performing teams is: “creating space to attain a keener awareness of what is going on within and around” themselves.

But in our current information age, carving out time to reflect on our feelings and listen to silence often seems like a waste of time, instead of a competitive edge. When the world is moving forward exponentially, how can slowing down and stopping be a good business decision?

To this question poet and business consultant David Whyte replies, “For all their emphasis on the bottom line, companies are adrift from the very engine at the center of a person’s creative application to work, they cultivate a workforce unable to respond with personal artistry to the confusion of global market.” But what is this artistry Whyte speaks of? And how can developing it deliver better organizational results and better outcomes?

 At Artistic Leadership, we place personal reflection as the foundational cornerstone of leadership development, critical thinking, and business innovation. We believe that before people can contribute, collaborate, experiment, and risk, they must be able to listen to their own voice. Practices like free-form writing, meditation, breathing exercises, and poetry are some of the tools we use to help people practice the internal awareness needed to become masters of observation externally.