#324: Why you should look back to lead better.
From The Thoughtful Leader Podcast with Ben Brearley by Ben Brearley
April 26, 2026 · 12 min · Episode 324
About this episode
Ben discusses the importance of reflecting on past experiences to enhance leadership skills and self-awareness.
In this episode, Ben explains why occasional reflection on past experiences can help leaders understand themselves better and improve their leadership. While coaching is typically future‑focused, reflecting on personal history can reveal how past experiences shaped values, reactions, and behaviour. Using a childhood story about his time in the playground, Ben illustrates how his value of self‑reliance may have developed. While this value has many strengths, it also has potential downsides, such as reluctance to ask for help or collaborate. The key lesson is that understanding your personal values - and the strengths and drawbacks they bring - helps leaders become more self‑aware and more forgiving of themselves, which supports stronger leadership. Resources mentioned in this episode: The Useful Thinking Journal . Article: Why Self Acceptance is a Foundation for Good Leadership . Understand and use your values online course.
People in this episode
Host: Ben Brearley
Topics covered
- reflection
- leadership
- self-awareness
- personal values
- coaching
- self-acceptance
Keywords
- leadership
- self-reflection
- personal history
- self-reliance
- values
- coaching
- self-awareness
Mentioned in this episode
Products: The Useful Thinking Journal
Books & works: Why Self Acceptance is a Foundation for Good Leadership, Understand and use your values online course
More episodes of The Thoughtful Leader Podcast with Ben Brearley
- #325: Should you address the issue directly? · May 3, 2026 · 15 min
- #323: Struggling with career direction? Try setting some principles. · April 19, 2026 · 13 min
- #322: Here's why you're not making progress. · April 12, 2026 · 13 min
- #321: Induction: Boring admin task, or really important? · April 5, 2026 · 16 min
- #320: The silver bullet to deal with difficult team members. · March 29, 2026 · 11 min
- #319: How to be "authentic" in your leadership role. · March 22, 2026 · 12 min
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