Harnessing the power of reflection

A few weeks ago on LinkedIn, I quoted a line from the 80s classic movie, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off:

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

I was illustrating my belief that, however busy we are, it’s so important to stop from time to time and review, looking back on our experiences and actions. Such moments are an opportunity to ask ourselves important questions: What am I grateful for? What have I learned? How can I improve? Who in my team needs a pat on the back? Who should I spend more time with? What could I do differently?

As one of my followers, Ryan Zofay, commented on the post, “the power of reflection truly drives growth. Your questions highlight key areas where mindful assessment can transform our professional journey.”

I believe that such growth isn’t just personal growth, it’s also about commercial growth. And the true power of reflection isn’t merely a sense of self-improvement, it’s also tangible transformation, an uptick in performance evidenced by measures such as sales growth, team retention and employee engagement.

But there’s a problem.

We live in a culture where action rather than reflection is rewarded. At work, it’s usually the people who ‘get things done’ who are promoted and bonused, not the quiet, introspective ones. Being busy, working long hours, having an endless to-do list are still badges of honour in many workplaces or, at the very least, expected norms.

But when we stop and reflect, we gain great insights which can result in important and beneficial change. The power of reflection lies in finding better ways of doing things, identifying errors and flaws and uncovering what really works. It’s also hugely energising and empowering!

Here are some steps you can take to ensure that you harness the full power of reflection.

1. Make time

In an action-orientated culture, stopping for reflection gets pushed down the priority list. Treat it as protected time. Putting it in your diary and making it a regular part of your working week will help to create a habit and ensure you give reflection the time and space it deserves. Ten minutes a day of journalling works for me, and I also use a daily walk as an opportunity to review my progress. Every year I set aside a significant chunk of time to do a full review of the previous 12 months and set my goals for the coming year. As a leader, instigating regular and frequent review time with your team will reap benefits and help them to see the value of reflection too, which will have a positive ripple effect on your culture.

2. Find a structure that works

Different kinds of reflection require different formats. There is a place for freeform mind-wandering reflection which can throw up unexpected observations, but sometimes a more structured method is necessary.

We are strong advocates for After Action Review as a process for reflecting and learning from experiences. The great thing about AAR is its scalability: it can be used as an everyday tool to learn ‘on the go’, as well as for larger-scale projects. It is also a very collaborative experience where participants share their reflections and collectively find solutions and improvements, making it a very effective way to bring about change and develop a learning culture across an organisation.

3. Ask the right questions

When we reflect on our actions and experiences it’s important that we ask the right questions. Depending on what level of insights we’re seeking to achieve, the exact nature of the questions may vary, but the simple four-question model of an After Action Review is a very good place to start:

1. What did you expect to happen?
2. What actually happened?
3. Why was there a difference?
4. What can we learn from this?

When we’re seeking to learn from something that has happened (whether it’s gone better or worse than anticipated), it’s in the gap between expectation and reality where the most learning can be found. According to research, individual and team performance can be improved by as much as 25% by using AAR.

4. Enjoy the process

I was recently asked by a colleague to bring along a photo to a meeting, to use as an ice-breaker. She specifically wanted the picture to have been taken during the past twelve months, so I (and all the other participants in the meeting) took out our phones and scrolled back through a year’s worth of snaps. The enjoyment we all got from reviewing our year in pictures was something we all noticed and mentioned. Even if some of our experiences during the year had been challenging, there was so much reward in reminiscing and realising just how much we had achieved.

So, with Ferris Bueller’s words ringing in our ears, let’s all remember to stop and look around once in a while to truly appreciate life. And, while we’re at it, don’t miss the learning opportunity it presents too.

After all, iTS Leadership!