Journaling

This article was written by Laura Villacrusis-Weaver, a leadership consultant with The Refinery Leadership

Partners, an international consulting company, in co-operation with Refinery co-principal Rosie Steeves

(rosie@refineryleadership.com). For more ideas about leadership development, visit

www.refineryleadership.com. This article was previously published in Business in Vancouver in July 2008.

A leader I used to work with amazed me once when he showed me his personal

leadership journal. His journaling wasn’t what amazed me--many leaders try this simple,

yet powerful development activity--but that the journal itself was so thick and well-worn.

He’d been writing in it at least once a week, he told me, for six years.

Many leaders start journaling with the best of intentions. They get into it for a while, at

least until “real work” gets in the way and their journal is relegated to a desk drawer,

mostly blank and completely forgotten. But my old co-worker would never dream of

burying his notebook, which he considers one of his leadership treasures. In fact, he

even takes it with him when he travels, for work and pleasure. I asked him recently how

he explains his commitment. “The act of writing helps,” he says simply. “It allows me to

act upon things swiftly and appropriately when I take the time to really sit down and think

about a situation. I’ve surprised myself many times with the different perspective I take

when writing my journal compared to just thinking through something.”

Indeed, journaling helps leaders become more self-aware, and self-aware leaders are

better able to adapt their behaviour to changes in the organizational environment, which

ultimately makes them more effective. All that from a little writing. Why then do so many

leaders give up on journaling? Why does one notebook collect insights while another

collects dust?

Journaling is a habit. Forming a habit requires repetition, and repetition is motivated by

positive reinforcement. In other words, leaders who don’t quickly see the benefits of

journaling aren’t likely to stick with it when time and energy becomes scarce. But

journaling is also a skill, and the benefits of a skill come quicker when we do it right.

Learn how to journal effectively, and the habit-forming benefits will soon follow.

So dust off that old notebook and see if a new approach can help you kick-start a good

habit. The more you do it, the more you’ll want to. Before you know it, that old journal will

have become one of your own leadership treasures.

The author has also suggested a three-part structure for effective journaling. If you are interested in going through it please send an e-mail to manedge@gmail.com or put in your request by clicking the Comments link below.