Your Most Important Meeting

Your most important meeting might be the one you have with yourself.

In her recent article, “Loneliness or Solitude: The Case for Being Alone.” Anne Ness outlined the benefits of solitude or of being alone intentionally. I like to call it “meeting with ourselves.” (Being alone is different than being lonely and it’s not just for introverts.) Meeting with yourself will help you lead others better.

Spending just 15 – 20 minutes a day in solitude can make you a better leader. According to Ness, five of the benefits of solitude are:
·      More meaningful relationships
·      Better resiliency
·      Increased creativity
·      Self – Discovery
·      Increased Productivity

In my experience as a leader and working with leaders…
·      deeper relationships give leaders a sense of not feeling so alone, a strong network to connect with and the ability to show up with empathy and compassion
·      resiliency allows you to get back up when you fall (and you will fall.)
·      creativity supports problem solving.  
·      leadership starts with leading ourselves. Self-discovery leads to self-awareness, a key component of leadership.
·      And we all want to be a little more productive, particularly if we are more efficient.

And, in my experience as a leader and working with leaders, carving out 10 – 20 minutes a day to spend time in solitude or “meet with yourself” can often be the most challenging to schedule.

I’m curious, are you currently “meeting with yourself?” If so, what do you do in those meetings? If not, what is getting in your way?

If you are struggling to meet with yourself, reach out, a coach can be a great support system and accountability partner.