There\u2019s one practice that will add richness and depth to your work life, empower your team members and enhance your productivity and that of those around you. It can be developed and learned, and it\u2019s cheap.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve all heard of mindfulness and its benefits to health and wellbeing, but to me, mindfulness is most useful as a foundation for a truly productive habit that will be enormously beneficial to your career. I\u2019m talking about embarking on the difficult but highly rewarding journey of creating the habit of reflection.<\/p>\n
Reflection is a critical part of learning from experience, and it\u2019s recognised in an enormous body of studies and literature as a key behaviour for those who want to develop themselves professionally and move up the leadership ranks.<\/p>\n
When mastering the art of reflection, it is important to distinguish between ruminating <\/i>\u2013 stewing over a problem or experience \u2013 and reflecting <\/i>\u2013 evaluating decisions, mistakes and successes in a constructive way (mindfulness forms a good basis here, as the act of being present and observing without judgment gives you more material to draw insights from when reflecting on your actions and gaining insights).<\/p>\n
By asking questions like, \u201cWhy do you think you were feeling that way?\u201d or \u201cWhat else could you have considered?\u201d, leaders can help their team members move towards a reflective practice, developing actionable insights for the future and allowing people to move on from mistakes. I have also seen leaders and managers benefit enormously from building their own reflective habits, and asking themselves the same questions.<\/p>\n
As an organisational psychologist, reflective training runs right through my professional background, and I\u2019ve built it into my approach to leadership development \u2013 for instance, in implementing mentorship programs within our client organisations.<\/p>\n
Mentors themselves often need to be trained on asking reflective questions when coaching current or future leaders one-on-one. When the mentor feels she has walked that path before, it\u2019s very natural to jump into advice giving. But it\u2019s better to prompt an insight than to give it to a person directly. The insights gained through reflection are much more \u2018sticky\u2019 than simply being told how things should have been done.<\/p>\n