Research behind reflection
Leadership Journal is informed by research on structured reflection, professional debriefing, self-distancing and leader self-reflection.
The research below helps explain why purposeful reflection can support learning and judgement. It does not prove that every form of journaling benefits every person or guarantee outcomes from Leadership Journal.
Across 46 samples involving 2,136 participants, properly conducted debriefs improved effectiveness by approximately 20–25% on average.
This finding concerns structured debriefing. It does not mean that every form of journaling produces the same result.
Reflection, perspective and access to coaching
Reflection is not automatically objective. Research distinguishes adaptive reflection from rumination and suggests that stepping back from an immediate first-person perspective can help people consider uncertainty, alternative explanations and more constructive responses.
Professional coaching can provide external challenge and perspective, but access remains uneven. A 2025 survey of 90 current and former CEOs found that 58% had received coaching from a paid professional. Among respondents who had used a paid coach, 56% met at least monthly and 24% quarterly.
Across organisations more broadly, International Coaching Federation research found that only 27% of employees received coaching from a professional coach and only 27% of surveyed organisations made professional coaching accessible to all employees. Coaching was more often reserved for senior-level staff.
The evidence points to a practical gap: external perspective is valuable, but it is neither continuously available nor equally accessible to leaders at every level.
References
- 01
Tannenbaum, S. I., & Cerasoli, C. P. (2013). “Do Team and Individual Debriefs Enhance Performance? A Meta-Analysis.” Human Factors, 55(1), 231–245.
A meta-analysis of 46 samples involving 2,136 participants found that properly conducted debriefs improved effectiveness by approximately 20–25% on average.
- 02
Grossmann, I., & Kross, E. (2014). “Exploring Solomon’s Paradox: Self-Distancing Eliminates the Self-Other Asymmetry in Wise Reasoning About Close Relationships in Younger and Older Adults.” Psychological Science, 25(8), 1571–1580.
Across three experiments involving 693 participants, self-distancing helped people reason more wisely about personal conflicts, including recognising uncertainty and considering other perspectives.
- 03
Ong, M., Ashford, S. J., & Bindl, U. K. (2023). “The Power of Reflection for Would-Be Leaders: Investigating Individual Work Reflection and Its Impact on Leadership in Teams.” Journal of Organizational Behavior, 44(1), 19–41.
Across two studies in self-managing teams, individual work reflection was linked to stronger peer-rated leadership behaviour and effectiveness through a better understanding of team needs.
- 04
Sherf, E. N., Taylor, M. S., & Anseel, F. (2013). “Structuring the Reflection Process: Why and How After Event Reviews Enable Performance Improvement.” Academy of Management Proceedings.
In a study involving 271 participants, structured reflection improved performance in a managerial simulation, whereas unstructured reflection did not.
- 05
Ellis, S., Mendel, R., & Nir, M. (2006). “Learning From Successful and Failed Experience: The Moderating Role of Kind of After-Event Review.” Journal of Applied Psychology, 91(3), 669–680; and Lanaj, K., Foulk, T. A., & Erez, A. (2019). “Energizing Leaders Via Self-Reflection: A Within-Person Field Experiment.” Journal of Applied Psychology, 104(1), 1–18.
After-event-review research showed value in learning from successful as well as failed experience. Leader field experiments linked positive leader self-reflection to lower depletion, greater engagement, activated leader identity and progress towards goals.
- 06
Mogk, C., Otte, S., Reinhold-Hurley, B., & Kröner-Herwig, B. (2006). “Health Effects of Expressive Writing on Stressful or Traumatic Experiences — A Meta-Analysis.” Psychosocial Medicine, 3, Doc06.
A meta-analysis of randomised trials found minor or no general effects of expressive writing on broad psychological and physical health outcomes, reinforcing the importance of avoiding universal wellness claims.
- 07
Kross, E. (2009). “When the Self Becomes Other: Toward an Integrative Understanding of the Processes Distinguishing Adaptive Self-Reflection from Rumination.” Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1167, 35–40.
This review identifies self-perspective as an important factor distinguishing adaptive reflection from rumination. A self-distanced perspective can support more constructive processing of difficult experiences.
- 08
Larcker, D. F., Miles, S., Seru, A., & Tayan, B. (2025). “2025 CEO Coaching and Kitchen Cabinet Survey.” Stanford Graduate School of Business, Rock Center for Corporate Governance, and Hoover Institution.
The survey of 90 current and former CEOs found that 58% had received paid professional coaching. Among those who had used a paid coach, 56% met at least monthly and 24% quarterly, demonstrating both growing acceptance of coaching and its periodic nature.
- 09
International Coaching Federation & Human Capital Institute. “Defining New Coaching Cultures.”
The research found that 27% of employees received coaching from a professional coach and only 27% of organisations made professional coaching accessible to all employees. Access was more commonly concentrated among senior-level staff.