As we approach the end of the year, it’s timely to reflect. Reflecting now gives you time to bring home the year on a high and set yourself up for a fantastic new year.
Reflective practice is a process that can be used throughout your day to day, not just at a annual point in time. It’s useful to have some understanding of the value of actively participating in reflective practice.
Reflective Practice is essentially about self-development, and your future personal growth by addressing:
- How we think and feel about ourselves and situations in the present, and
- How we think and feel about ourselves and situations in the past.
By using insights and learning from your past, you can assess where you are now and therefore improve your present and future.
Many research articles list reflective practice providing benefits far beyond professional learning and development, such as:
- Human relationships – workplace, romance, parenting, etc
- Rehabilitation
- Reconciliation
- Mediation
- Stress-reduction and management
- All sorts of teaching, training, coaching, counselling, etc
- Parenting
- Coping with change and trauma
So with that bit of background under your belt. I have three reflective questions for you:
1. How have I been the leader I would want to follow?
– What actions must I take, want to take, and stop doing going forward?
2. What has been my most impactful leadership lesson this past year?
– What did this change in me and how can I leverage the positive of this going forward?
3. What advice would I give an emerging leader aspiring to leadership in my field?
– What would it mean for me to follow this advice in my own leadership in the coming year?
Let me know how you get on, I’d love to know.
