Here is an exercise in leadership development for you. I got the idea from an officer’s memoir of the Civil War.

Take a brief block of time. Let’s say it’s the past week or two weeks. Write down in bullet format the major things that have happened—decisions, actions, communication, things done or not done, people met, and whatever else rises to the level of “major things.” It might even include items from outside your immediate surrounding; be sure that these outside things have a direct bearing on what’s happened. Limit yourself to perhaps six or seven bullet points. Then, try to write a story that weaves these individual points together in as coherent a story form as possible. As you’ll likely tell, this would be a rough, brief version of your memoir. 

This is an excellent exercise in leadership development for you. By writing this short little snippet of a memoir, you’re thinking broadly about how different smaller things fit together into a meaningful bigger picture. That’s an aspect of vision and strategy. You’re also sorting and sifting, another way of saying prioritizing. You’re certainly engaging in an important expression of communication. Finally, you’re backtracking to see how and what’s been done and the effect it may have on where you thought you’d be at this point in time. That’s a type of accountability. 

See what I mean? Yep, it’s a good exercise.