Gatland says he has done some soul searching after Wales’ miserable 2024 results.
He acknowledged that there was “no doubt it has been challenging” because his job is “all about performance and results”.
“There has been a fair amount of criticism which is completely understandable when you are dealing with professional rugby,” he added.
“You question yourself and think about the things you could implement to improve and make a difference.
“It’s also about trying to strike a balance between not making radical changes and finding some tweaks to improve things.”
Gatland’s second spell in charge of Wales has contrasted to his first 12-year period at the helm, when the national side won three Grand Slams and four Six Nations titles and reached two World Cup semi-finals.
“It’s also about looking back historically and asking why have we been successful in the past, what I did that made those teams that won trophies in the past so successful,” he added.
“It’s about making sure you don’t go away from some philosophies that have made you successful with teams.
“Sometimes you can lose a little bit of that. You have to trust your own instincts and experience.”
Gatland added: “I’ve thrived on challenges. In the past when people have written us off and haven’t expected us to do well and we’ve done exceptionally well.
“I’m proud of the achievements I’ve had in sport, whether it’s my time at Wasps or with Wales or the British and Irish Lions.
“In particular in World Cups, where there’s been four campaigns where we’ve done pretty well, in terms of being unlucky not going further than the semi-finals and potentially making finals.”
Tierney has said there will be another review of Wales’ progress after the Six Nations.
After naming his squad for the tournament, Gatland says he has not been given a set of results which must be achieved.
“I’ve never been given targets before in the past, there has never been a number that’s been set about ‘you’ve got to win so many games’,” said Gatland.
“It’s the way it has always been. Everyone is talking about it being challenging, but we definitely need to show an improvement in performance.”
