Deepen the Learning

Accountability without reflection is just pressure. Real change requires going deeper.

In my blog "After Action Reviews Don't Work," I looked at how to run AARs with your team in a way that actually gets under the hood. The same practice applies to you personally.

Set aside time each week to review key situations — a decision, a difficult conversation, a pattern in your numbers. Work through it:

1. What happened.
   Stick to observable facts. Separate them from interpretation. Quantify the impact.

2. Your story.
   What were you focused on? What were you thinking, feeling, doing? What assumptions were running beneath the surface? How did your emotional state affect you and the people around you? What behaviors served your intention — and what didn't?

3. The pattern.
   What keeps showing up?

4. The cost.
   What is this pattern actually costing you?

5. The commitment.
   What needs to change? What's the first step?

6. The follow-through.
   Take your insights to others. Ask for feedback. Come back to yourself. Bring it to your coaching session.

The point isn't analysis. It's metabolizing experience into something that changes how you lead.