There is something reassuringly exciting about the pace of founderhood. It definitely isn’t for the faint-hearted, but the dopamine hits of troubleshooting and succeeding at pace is one of the many reasons we do what we do.
So, when we’re staring down the barrel of an extended break, the change of pace can feel uncomfortable – I’m sure we can all recollect moments when we’ve been restless, guilty, unfocused, or irritable during a period of downtime.
That discomfort is down to our neurobiology: as founders, our brains are geared up for (and familiar with) urgency. So when we stop, we’re in withdrawal; we’re so used to having micro-bursts of dopamine that our bodies literally don’t know what to do with themselves.
We all know the benefits of taking proper rest, but sometimes we need a bridge to take us from “always on” to “well rested”, and reflection is a powerful way to do that.
So what should we reflect on, and how do we avoid getting lost in a rabbit warren of unhelpful thoughts?
Reflection is a leadership discipline, not a luxury
As founders, we’re used to reflecting on business performance: short-term revenue, long-term growth trajectories, project retros. The list goes on. But rarely do we find the time to reflect on ourselves and how effectively our leadership style is steering the ship.
Self-awareness is an incredibly valuable part of the founder journey – it helps us learn from experience, communicate more effectively, and ultimately makes us more resilient.
Leadership professor, Don Heifetz*, uses the metaphor of leaders spending time “down on the dancefloor and up on the balcony”. Most leaders spend too much time on the dancefloor, which means we start to lose sight of patterns of behaviour.
So what should we be looking at from up on the balcony?
Reflecting on a year of leading as a founder
As founders, we have so many leadership competencies vying for our attention. Most of the time, we’re building these skills on the job, with little time to reflect on their impact, which is why this quiet space is so essential for considering questions such as….
- Where has my energy been spent this year? One of the hardest parts of founderhood is letting go of control, but it frees us up to direct energy to the most valuable parts of our business. Auditing exactly where we’re spending our time is the first step in redirecting energy and delegating. Once you can see where you’re spending most of your time, it is easier to assess whether those things are best serving your North Star Mission and your own wellbeing.
- Does my team feel empowered and trusted? Not only does empowerment and trust make letting go of control easier, but it also transforms the motivation and productivity of a team. A moment of reflection can provide a fresh perspective on how much we’re promoting autonomy within our teams and how psychologically safe everyone feels.
- How clear is my team on our purpose? Having everyone in our team laser-focused on the North Star Mission is the key to productivity and team motivation. But it’s so easy for focus to get knocked off course. Often, it’s the result of ineffective or irregular communication, but unless we spend time observing from the balcony, it’s hard to see how everyone is oriented and what the root cause might be.
- What have my resilience habits been? Thanks to our resilience research, we now understand how vital founder resilience is to start-up success. Knowing which habits boost resilience is one thing, but finding the time to maintain them throughout the year is quite another. A moment of reflection can help us pinpoint the gaps and plan how to fill them.
While these questions help identify areas for improvement, it’s fair to say that tackling them can sometimes trigger overwhelm to…
Productive reflection without the overwhelm and rumination
There is a real skill to being “on the balcony” and reflecting well. Venturing on a long walk with calming music in our headphones might sound like the perfect “reflection” space, but without structure or purpose, it’s easy for our minds to wander in circles, doing more harm than good.
And it’s especially tricky when we’re on holiday, because the moment we stop working at an intense pace, our brain’s Default Mode Network (responsible for introspection and self-talk) starts to take over. You might recognise some of these pitfalls:
- Ruminating over things you could or should have done differently
- Focusing too much on the negatives and missing the “wins” or progress
- A classic for founders… wondering what will go wrong – since everything seems to be going right
- Worrying about problems that aren’t actually problems yet
- Entering into an existential crisis about your identity and role as a founder
Having a framework to guide our reflection means we can use our time productively, keep momentum, and avoid the trap of overthinking.
The Observe – Interpret – Intervene framework
In his book Adaptive Leadership, Heifetz dives into the “time on the balcony” analogy, and advocates for an unemotional and non-judgmental practice of observing, interpreting, and linking back to action.
- Observe – Reflect on what’s happening in yourself and in your team – behaviours, interactions, and dynamics within your team
- Interpret – Analyse what might be shaping that behaviour – motivations, conflicts, systems, etc
- Intervene – Identify deliberate actions to address challenges, confront any issues, or experiment with new ways of working.
What I like about this model is that it can be used to reflect on the day-to-day running of the business (project or release retros, quarterly reviews, etc) as well as a retro as a leader. It’s also simple and objective, shielding us from getting caught up in complexity or emotion.
Here are some examples of prompts you could use within this structure to frame your own reflections as a founder and leader:
How reflective are you planning to be?
Reflection is a powerful practice. Not only does it ease the transition from “breakneck pace” to “proper rest” (and lessen the likelihood of the unscheduled rumination in the middle of your holiday!) but, done well, it can provide leadership clarity for the year ahead too.
To kick start your pre-holiday reflection in the best way and maximise your downtime, consider this checklist:
- How comfortable am I feeling about slowing the pace?
- What’s happened around previous holidays and how is that impacting that feeling?
- Which areas of leadership do I want to reflect on?
- How will that reflection serve the year ahead?
- What steps can I put in place to the reflection process?
And don’t forget… When you slow the pace, reflect and enter a period of proper rest, the Default Mode Network (DMN) has the chance to engage all the problem-solving and creativity superpowers you need – sparking new ideas and growth for your startup. So that’s the best rationale for creating a moment to reflect before you hit the holidays.
Need help getting in the right headspace for reflection?
If you still find yourself falling into the trap of overthinking, then it can be beneficial to involve others in your reflections. That might be by working with a coach, or by surrounding yourself with a peer group of founders who just “get it”. Here at Foundology, we can help you connect with the right people through 1:1 coaching or our peer-to-peer coaching groups called Foundercircles.
Sources
* The work of leadership, Heifetz & Laurie
