In the fairy tale Snow White, the queen asks, “Mirror, mirror on the all, who’s the fairest of us all?” She is filled with disdain and jealousy, to discover that Snow White and not she is the fairest in the land.

As leaders, we have all complained at one time or another about the unsatisfactory performance of our board, our peers and subordinates. In our fervour to have the situation rectified at the soonest, we have called in Consultants to rectify the situation in the soonest time frame possible.

What if instead of rushing to call in the experts, we were to take a Time Out, to reflect on the role of a leader? What would that mirror reveal? What if we were to do some introspection on our effectiveness as a leader, what would this introspection and reflection reveal? How would we rank on the key elements of leadership…