The Examen: A 500-Year-Old Practice for the Overwhelmed Modern Leader
Most spiritual practices fail for leaders not because they lack sincerity, but because they lack structure. The busy executive who resolves to "pray more" or "be more reflective" during church on Sunday will often find that intention evaporating by Tuesday. It’s tempting when this happens to fall into self-blame or condemnation, but what's needed isn't more willpower. It's a better tool.
The Prayer of Examen is that tool.
Developed by St. Ignatius of Loyola in the sixteenth century, the Examen is a short, structured review of your day (typically fifteen minutes) designed to help you notice where God was present, where you thrived, and where you fell short. It is not a performance review or a guilt exercise. It is, at its core, a practice of paying attention to your own interior life with honesty and without judgment.
For leaders who live almost entirely in the external world full of decisions, outputs, meeting other people's needs, and conforming to other’s expectations, the prayer is quietly revolutionary.
The Five Movements
The traditional Examen moves through five simple steps. Think of them less as a checklist and more as a conversation.
1. Become aware of God's presence.
Before reviewing anything, pause. Take a breath. Acknowledge that you are not doing this alone and invite the Holy Spirit’s presence fully into your awareness. For leaders accustomed to self-sufficiency, this step is more countercultural than it sounds.
2. Review the day with gratitude.
This is more a search than a summary. Where did something go better than expected? Who showed up for you? What moment, however small, carried a quality of gift? Gratitude isn't sentiment here; it's reconnaissance.
3. Pay attention to your emotions.
This is the step most executives skip and most need. Look back at the day and notice what you actually felt. Not what you were supposed to feel, or what you reported feeling, but the real interior experience. Anxiety before a particular meeting. Unexpected satisfaction after a conversation. A flicker of resentment you filed away. The Examen asks you to take those signals seriously, because they are data about your interior life.
4. Choose one event or feature of the day and pray from there.
You don't have to process everything. Pick one moment (the one that carries the most weight, positive or negative) and bring it into honest conversation with God. What happened? What does it reveal? What do you need?
5. Look toward tomorrow.
Close by bringing one specific thing from tomorrow's calendar into the present. One meeting, one decision, one conversation. Ask for what you'll need to navigate it well.
How to Start
Begin with five minutes, not fifteen. Set a recurring calendar block, same time each day, treated with the same respect as any other meeting. Many leaders find the transition between work and home the most natural moment: still in the car, before walking through the door.
Keep a simple journal nearby. Not for lengthy entries, just a word or two per step. Over time, patterns emerge that a single session won't show you.
Resist the urge to complete this perfectly. The Examen isn't a performance. It's a practice. The only version that doesn't work is the one you never start.
Christa Cordova is a corporate chaplain based in The Woodlands, TX, offering spiritual care and support for executives navigating the intersection of leadership and soul. Schedule a conversation.
