The Leadership Year: Month Six

When creating the Leadership Year, I really wanted to highlight the importance of slowing down and reflecting on what we do, where we are strongest and where we need to grow. Reflection is vital to anyone’s self-development, but it strikes me that it is also something we have largely had to figure out how to do for ourselves.

In the moment, we tackle tasks and do many things almost on autopilot. Although at times it may be crystal clear that we need to learn from an experience in order to improve (or continue to improve) for the future, more often we go from task to task with little time to stop and consider what we have learnt and where we need to adapt. Reflective practice helps us to make more sense of our experiences. It’s an opportunity to add meaning to what we have done and ensure that we reach the right conclusions as to how to best tackle similar situations in the future.

A HBR article a few years ago really highlighted the link between reflection and improved performance. A study by Di Stefano, Gino, Pisano and Staats explored the impact of introducing a 15-minute period of reflection at the end of every day for call centre workers. Those that used this time to stop and think about how their day had gone saw an increase in their performance of 23%. A similar study of UK commuters who reflected on their journeys to and from the office also saw an improvement in performance but also found them to be happier workers less likely to burn out.

Many of us will already buy into the idea of reflecting but in reality, fail to prioritise it. Perhaps because in busy lives it is hard to make time for without being really disciplined, but I also wonder if it’s because reflecting can feel a bit like ‘doing nothing’. One of my coaches once said to me “I can’t just sit and do nothing at the end of the day and say it’s because I’m reflecting!”. So, I think the key to being able to create a habit out of reflection is to make it a more structured experience.

A common reflective practice is Gibb’s Reflective cycle. This gives us a framework to follow which can make reflection feel less like doing nothing and more like something productive. It encourages us to think about an event, or period of time and follow the following pattern of thinking:

·       Description: Keep it factual. What happened?

·       Feelings: Often an overlooked part of reflection at work when we feel compelled to keep reflection to productive outputs. Do we feel proud of an achievement? Or are we disappointed in how something has gone?

·       Evaluation: This is the area where we might bring in some more practical outcomes. Did we hit a KPI? Are we happy or unhappy with what happened, or the knock-on effects?

·       Analysis: Bring in extra layers of detail here. What might have contributed to what happened and impacted the outcome? This is often easier for us to do when something goes wrong and we want to fix a situation to prevent it happening again, but it is equally important to analyse good behaviour to maintain and improve it further

·       Conclusion: Add some conviction to the reflection. What specifically happened and why? Can you create links between actions and outcomes?

·       Action plan: Reflection is great but is pretty pointless if you don’t do anything with it! What have you learnt and what can you do differently (or continue doing)? Make this a solid plan. Rather than just intend to get round to doing something actually put time aside and take strides

Gibbs can be really helpful as it adds a structure to our reflection, and encourages multiple ways of thinking through a situation, but if it feels too prescriptive it might be something we put off doing! So, there are other ways of creating structure on reflection without it feeling like following a model.

One simple way is to make regular time for reflection. Chose a time of day that works best for you. Some people like to do this at the end of the day as a junction between finishing work and starting their evening, but for others this is a busy time of day and there may be better options. Consider whether you want to include reflection in our workday or into your breaks. Whilst I always encourage us to see reflection as part of our working day, I can appreciate that it is often difficult to prioritise it when we are busy trying to get through our to-do list, so even including in a lunch hour might be a good idea. Reflecting at our desk might also be difficult for us to do. A walk in nature is a great alternative option. It includes exercise, which in itself is a positive influence on reflection, but having our senses stimulated with different sights, sounds, and even smells (you gotta love nature!), encourages a wider thinking pattern that may see us reflect with more depth and meaning. Whilst nature is the best option here, it will also be true of a walk in a city too so don’t be put off if you don’t have access to green space.

Reflecting on events is often most people’s go-to reflective practice. They think about things they’ve done, what they would do better next time. But actually, taking time to reflect on who we are as people and our relationships might be even more beneficial. It is easy to take relationships for granted. Those we work close with often have a business need to co-operate with us at the very least. Even if we don’t get along with them, we will likely need to still work with them exchanging information or tasks so as to meet our job requirements. But a strong relationship creates more opportunities for collaboration, increased learning, and a much more enjoyable work environment. Given that the fundamental needs are often met in business, poor relationships may actually end up ‘ticking over’ for a lot longer than is beneficial for us. With the basics met, we may focus more on solving problems than investing in improvements. But strong relationships are often key to growth. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs pointed to social needs having to be met before we could strive to reach out full potential, and for this reason we should think about relationships at least as often as we do situations.

Reflecting about ourselves may feel even less structured. Perhaps even self-indulgent! But a way to make this feel practical and meaningful is to add some criteria. Start by thinking about what you want to assess. You may even do this by drawing comparisons to other people. What does an empowering leader do? How does an emotionally intelligent leader act? This can help with a benchmark to compare to. Although used as a coaching tool, a ‘wheel’ can also be used to help aid self-reflection. Drawing a circle (this one is best done on paper!) then dividing it up into 8 sections can allow you reflect about 8 different areas of your leadership. This may differ from person to person, but I recommend starting with Communication, Team connection, Strategic thinking, and Time Management before adding more specific skills for your role. Being totally honest with ourselves we should then score each area from 0-10 (with 0 being in the centre of the circle, and 10 on the outside edge) shading the circle segments accordingly. You should have a very dysfunctional pizza at the end of this! To make this a more meaningful exercise, really stop and think about each area and the score you gave yourself. Why do I think I’m an 8/10 for Strategic thinking? Actually, when I push myself for justification do I reflect that I might actually be a 7 instead? Or am I being harsh on myself if I’m actually a 9 (Spoiler alert: I’m definitely not a 9). This provides a great foundation to our reflection. The reason why this is often used in coaching as it leads very nicely onto a decision about which area do you focus on for self-development, and how do you get yourself just 1 point higher. A management, but still very meaningful step.

Reflection is really easy to do, but really hard to prioritise. Start by thinking about a pattern for your reflection (be it events, people, or yourself) and then try a technique that works for you. I like to diarise reflection so that I take is as seriously as other work tasks and it’s a good visual reminder to put it front of mind too!