Leaders who don’t pause to reflect, leaning instead on endless cycles of acting and re-acting without first thinking, often run into trouble. True leaders ponder issues before acting or re-acting. This reflection, in its simplest definition, is akin to time-thinking. Knowledge is the residue of thinking. The results of knowledge-thinking are new alternatives, perspectives, and creative solutions.
Confession time: Many years ago, when I was a young, bright eyed, bushy tailed manager, I (sadly) had a reputation for jumping into issues. I was a fixer, until one day a cohort changed my outlook. He was telling me of a problem he faced and in the middle of his story I picked up his phone and began dialing numbers of who I thought were guilty parties. By golly, I was going to fix his problems. Luckily he stopped me and said, “Hey, let’s talk about this a bit,” and from that point on my leadership style began to change.
Source: Taking time for leadership – Management.Issues