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633. Reflection Is a Leadership Discipline · Daily Influence

• 0:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: Welcome to the daily influence where our mission is to deliver a daily dose of positive influence that can uplift you personally or be shared within your sphere of influence.
• 0:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: While not every episode may directly apply to your unique circumstances, we strive to provide insights and inspiration relevant to most people's daily, weekly, and monthly lives.
• 0:30
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• 0:35
  [SPEAKER_00]: Listen, share, and embrace the power of influence in your life.
• 0:40
  [SPEAKER_00]: Hey everybody, Brian Smith here with the Iron Team series and your daily influence and we are fast approaching the new year and today I'm going to talk about something that I try to do every year with some discipline in leadership and its reflection and it's, you know,
• 1:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: looking at where we've come over the past year and longer, you can incorporate trends if you see them.
• 1:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: But this reflection period is really about gaining some understanding and preparing you for the new year.
• 1:18
  [SPEAKER_00]: And reflection is a leadership discipline.
• 1:21
  [SPEAKER_00]: it's something that we should try to get in the habit of on a regular basis.
• 1:25
  [SPEAKER_00]: We talk about it a lot.
• 1:27
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's not nostalgia.
• 1:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's a responsibility.
• 1:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: And what I mean by that is, is we're looking for things that happen when we don't reflect them.
• 1:37
  [SPEAKER_00]: And those things are repeat patterns,
• 1:44
  [SPEAKER_00]: activity with progress.
• 1:46
  [SPEAKER_00]: And it's really important that we slow ourselves down on some kind of cadence and go through this and what a better time to do it than the end or start of the year.
• 1:56
  [SPEAKER_00]: You know, asking good questions about what actually happened this year.
• 2:01
  [SPEAKER_00]: Where did we come from?
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Where have we landed?
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  [SPEAKER_00]: And how did we get here?
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Was it intentional?
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Was it reactive?
• 2:08
  [SPEAKER_00]: Was it proactive?
• 2:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: understanding where the decisions came from can really help you move into a new year and set a new pace for you and your team.
• 2:18
  [SPEAKER_00]: And looking out, where did you show up?
• 2:22
  [SPEAKER_00]: Well, you know, and where didn't you show up?
• 2:24
  [SPEAKER_00]: And what were the barriers?
• 2:25
  [SPEAKER_00]: Why didn't you do those things?
• 2:28
  [SPEAKER_00]: What got in the way of you being able to show up?
• 2:31
  [SPEAKER_00]: And
• 2:31
  [SPEAKER_00]: Where did you slow down and where didn't you slow down and what predicated that?
• 2:36
  [SPEAKER_00]: What got you into the tempo that wouldn't allow you to focus on those slow down moments or not allow you to disconnect and really be more intentional when you need it to be.
• 2:48
  [SPEAKER_00]: These reflecting points can be so beneficial in helping us improve and we should all be searching for continuous self-improvement.
• 2:56
  [SPEAKER_00]: The next thing is as we understand this, we can also
• 2:59
  [SPEAKER_00]: look at what did we influence?
• 3:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: What is it that drove our influence?
• 3:05
  [SPEAKER_00]: And how did that influence land?
• 3:07
  [SPEAKER_00]: You know, influence happens whether we want it to or not.
• 3:12
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's not as if we get a choice.
• 3:15
  [SPEAKER_00]: If we're going to be influential and not as leaders, as peers, as partners, as whatever area of influence you have,
• 3:23
  [SPEAKER_00]: that's why it's called area of influence.
• 3:25
  [SPEAKER_00]: You are always influencing in your area of influence.
• 3:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: So reflect on how are you arriving, what is your presence like, what's your behavior like, and what are your reactions, especially, especially under pressure?
• 3:41
  [SPEAKER_00]: Those are the moments when we
• 3:44
  [SPEAKER_00]: I know for me, I don't often times react as I want to react that I can still be impulsive and come across overly aggressive, I can speed up and let my emotions get ahead of me and put things out in front when I don't want them to and it's something that I have to work on intentionally all the time.
• 4:03
  [SPEAKER_00]: People in my area of influence would tell you that I often times have to follow up
• 4:07
  [SPEAKER_00]: with them after I have responded and I don't like doing that, but I do do that intentionally to try to slow myself down, use it as a lesson, improve from it, and hopefully reduce the number of reactionary behaviors that I have, especially on those times when stress levels are higher.
• 4:26
  [SPEAKER_00]: Because what happens is, if your influence is loud, but doesn't need to be loud, you have to ask
• 4:32
  [SPEAKER_00]: Influential moments building trust are those actions building trust or are they creating distance between you and those who can support your growth, your improvement, your objectives, everything around you.
• 4:48
  [SPEAKER_00]: Does my behavior align with my values?
• 4:51
  [SPEAKER_00]: And sometimes we forget we take our values for granted.
• 4:55
  [SPEAKER_00]: We just assume that we're chugging along.
• 4:57
  [SPEAKER_00]: But when we go too fast, we oftentimes don't recognize those times when we are stepping outside of what our core values are, we are saying things or doing things that, even if they're unintentional, are outside of those values.
• 5:13
  [SPEAKER_00]: And they don't show well for us.
• 5:18
  [SPEAKER_00]: These slow down moments, these reflection moments can help us identify those, see what led to them and improve our behavior going forward.
• 5:27
  [SPEAKER_00]: The biggest thing I think that we can get from these reflecting points is it's a feedback loop for us.
• 5:33
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's one that doesn't always require third parties.
• 5:36
  [SPEAKER_00]: This is where we can get deep with ourselves.
• 5:39
  [SPEAKER_00]: You can,
• 5:39
  [SPEAKER_00]: Ask yourself, do I have unfinished business?
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Is it emotional or is it operational?
• 5:45
  [SPEAKER_00]: Where does it fit into the objectives that you're trying to do?
• 5:49
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's really important that we think about these things because it allows us to dive deeper into our intention and then build our objectives, build our tactics with better intention with a mindset of continuous improvement.
• 6:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: Knowing need to close loops are their places where we need shut doors.
• 6:07
  [SPEAKER_00]: I'm not necessarily getting to the burn the bridge moment, but there are doors that oftentimes just need to be shut.
• 6:14
  [SPEAKER_00]: I know we're going through some of these here in our organizations right now and they're very difficult.
• 6:19
  [SPEAKER_00]: very stressful.
• 6:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: But we are moving through them and we are holding ourselves accountable to the intentionality that is needed to make those types of decisions.
• 6:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: And then identifying those lessons and can we compartmentalize them?
• 6:33
  [SPEAKER_00]: Can we use them to pass on to others?
• 6:37
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's really important that the lessons that we learn, if we can find a way to share them with others and help our teams and the people in our area of influence to improve.
• 6:48
  [SPEAKER_00]: We really empower them and we empower ourselves as better leaders.
• 6:52
  [SPEAKER_00]: And then letting go of those things that just don't serve you, serve your mission, serve your values.
• 6:59
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's hard to let go.
• 7:00
  [SPEAKER_00]: And that's another thing that we're having to work through here in our organization and with a number of our clients is moving past speed bumps and obstacles that are just letting go.
• 7:13
  [SPEAKER_00]: So all of these things create clarity in what happens when we get clarity as we get momentum.
• 7:21
  [SPEAKER_00]: And these opportunities to close doors, to move past things, to go around things, to improve ourselves, gives us space and it gives us space to be,
• 7:32
  [SPEAKER_00]: that intentional leader that we've always wanted to be.
• 7:36
  [SPEAKER_00]: Look, I hope that you will take some time as we leave 2025 and enter into 2026 to listen to yourself.
• 7:48
  [SPEAKER_00]: Listen to learn.
• 7:49
  [SPEAKER_00]: Listen to the lessons that have been created for you throughout this year and use them in your own way.
• 7:56
  [SPEAKER_00]: in the most positive and responsible way you can, so that your area of influence improves and grows as you hope it will in 2026.
• 8:06
  [SPEAKER_00]: And remember, you don't need answers right now, what you need is honesty.
• 8:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: If you reflect and you do that with intention and you slow down and listen intently to yourself,
• 8:16
  [SPEAKER_00]: Listen to the answers you get to the hard questions you can ask yourself.
• 8:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: You will move yourself in the right direction and the more truth you bring into reflection, the more intentional your influence will become.
• 8:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: I hope you all have an amazing, amazing end of the year.
• 8:33
  [SPEAKER_00]: I look forward to talking to you again on New Year's Eve and again on New Year's with some short messages that will just keep this momentum going and hopefully setting all of us up for
• 8:45
  [SPEAKER_00]: filled with improvement, responsibility, and positivity have a great day.