3 Reasons Journaling Builds Better Leaders

Walk into any bookstore or office supply store and you will see an entire section on journals—journals to document your dreams, journals for sketching, journals for list-making, journals with questions, and simple, blank books for any journaling purpose you deem appropriate. For those who enjoy technology, numerous apps are available for the mobile device or computer, some even with the ability to include photographs and automatically document the date, time, weather, and music you were listening to when you wrote an entry. PPS International Limited has long used journaling as part of our learning processes, especially for leaders. As far back as the early 1990s, we integrated journaling into our Management Skills for New Leaders program, allowing new managers to capture their ideas and insights in a specific learning journal. We’re in good company! Those who journal and see its value were Leonardo da Vinci, Albert Einstein, John D. Rockefeller, George Patton, Ben Franklin, Thomas Edison, Winston Churchill, and Ernest Hemingway (to name a few). What is the appeal and value? Here are just a few of the benefits to anyone, but especially to leaders:

1. Better Decision Making: Did anyone ever tell you when you were stumped on an issue of importance, “Make a pro and con list”? Well, their advice was sound. The act of writing allows the writer to consider various points, clarify needs, and process options. In addition, journaling can channel energy into solutions in a way that for many people talking does not. Those who journal may find that their ability to make decisions in a timely manner with a better outcome will improve over time.
2. Improved Self-Knowledge: We work diligently to build awareness into our training programs and coaching processes. This is because we know that leaders who can examine their own behavior and outcomes will continuously improve their relationships and results. Journaling can provide writers with better self-insight, a look at patterns in their behaviors, and a means of stopping the cycle of repeating self-defeating actions.
3. More Positive Outlook and Attitude: If leaders include gratitude and positive intentions in their journaling, their internal outlook can improve. Through a more balanced lens of gratitude and goal-setting for improvement, leaders’ outward behaviors can begin to shift to be calmer and appreciative. Leaders live very public and influential lives—and their demeanors can be a positive force for an engaged workforce.

The benefits come with continued practice—starting and keeping a pattern of writing that can be as brief as a few minutes a sitting. From an instructional designer’s perspective, the act of journaling is as relevant to our leaders’ development today as it was to those who included this habit in their lives hundreds of years ago.