Now, week 4 into the UK Coronavirus lockdown we’ve been taking some time to reflect on this unparalleled situation – how we’ve adapted as individuals, with our families and as a business. They say that it takes 3 weeks to create new habits/routines so how are things settling for you and your role at this everchanging and emotional time?
Wellbeing and development
Reflective practice takes your learning and development even further. It’s a huge part of success, wellbeing and continuous development so it’s important right now to take time out to reflect on the day, the week and consider how you’ll act and respond to future events.
Last week we talked about starting to engage with your employees about their wellbeing and learning needs to weather the storm right now and help them to come out stronger on the other side.
You may well be reflecting on your employees more pressing learning needs in their new working environment or your overall learning and development strategy and how this will need to adapt now and in the future. Possibly you may be thinking about your company culture as a whole, who has supported you through this turbulent time and most importantly what do you need right now to be at your best for you, your family, friends and colleagues.
Starting a reflective practice
But first some honesty. I don’t do this enough. However, when I do it – then I find myself focusing on the positive and recognising what changes are still needed to improve situations. So, its one of my challenges, a goal even, during this time to keep myself in a healthy frame of mind, to manage stress, remain calm and build resilience, all helping to allow creative thoughts to flow.
Here are some of my thoughts:
Keep it simple – if you don’t practice self-reflection start with easy wins, e.g. two minutes a day when eating breakfast. As you begin to develop your reflective skills you can add more time, questions and develop your own process/
Maintain a rhythm – New habits take a while to form so in the early stages you need to do regularly so it becomes part of your routine, with agreed time periods when you do it. Use a self-reflection app such as
Keep a journal – have a small notebook or digital journal with you all the time. Allows you to note down thoughts and to go back through and see how your comments have changed over long periods of time. Use a self-reflection app such as Five-minute journal to get you into the habit.
Be creative – if you are more creative you might choose to illustrate your thoughts, or free write your thoughts without a fixed set of questions.
Get comfortable – what environment works best for you. You don’t have to be sitting crossed leg on a yoga mate.
Try whilst exercising – I find it easier to reflect when doing a repetitive activity such as walking, running or cycling over things like yoga but choose what feels best for you. You can always record voice notes / keep an audio diary.
Don’t overthink – you aren’t solving complex questions, just giving more thought to what is happening in your life. If you don’t like the answers then you know something has to change.
Consider sharing them – Not all of them, but some of them, especially if you lead or are part of a team, or with family. I’ve been posting some of mine on LinkedIn recently – but will always keep some personal.
Self-reflection for leaders/managers
These are a good example of questions you can ask yourself as a leader of a team:
- How are you feeling?
- How could I have been a more effective leader in a recent call or encounter?
- How am I helping my team and company achieve their goals?
- What was the biggest success today?
- How are the team operating?
Reflection for your team
- How are you feeling?
- What’s the most important thing you have learned so far?
- Was there anything that you got curious about?
- When were you at your best and why?
- Is there anything that we need to improve on and why?
- Was there anything you’d do differently? (note, this question is designed to be constructive not allow too much time to negative inner voice)
Final reflection
Take a moment to reflect on this article. How useful has it been, is reflective practice something you’ll start doing?
If this article has inspired you to begin do let me know as it would be good to hear how you get on and the impact it has on your life.
Good luck,
Blake
