We all have blind spots. Even coaches. Even seasoned executives. Even the leaders who look like they have it all figured out from the outside.

The start of the year is the perfect time for a leadership pause. This leadership audit offers powerful reflection questions to help you assess your impact, energy, blind spots, and priorities—so you can move forward with intention rather than urgency.

The review itself isn’t usually the problem. It’s how we approach it.

It is natural to get defensive when receiving negative feedback. Our brains treat criticism as a form of social threat, and we respond as if we’ve just been cornered.

Most leaders know the classic advice for briefing a senior executive: keep it short, start with the bottom line, and stay on point. That’s not wrong—but it’s only half the equation.