Through reflection, experiences become knowledge where the connections between cause and effect become visible.
Research shows that 70% of an individual's development occurs when reflecting. But what is reflection? And how can we reflect in the stressful everyday life where we are ultimately constantly measured on our results rather than the path to the results?
Employees have, at best and with different intensity, reconciliation meetings with the manager about their development. It hopefully sets goals and locates what activities the individual should do to achieve the goals. However, the trend shows that these meetings, which are often held only once a year in the form of employee talks, should be held much more continuously so that they do not become a desktop product.
But what really happens between these employee conversations? How's the follow-up going? After all, the idea is that what happens in these meetings will create change, this is where the continued reflection becomes so important while this is where it in most cases does not even come up.
Organizations that use the Mentor Reflection Log show that reflection can work wonders. This is also exactly what I discovered when I worked as a sales coach many years ago and asked my employees to reflect.
If management allows employees to set 5-10 minutes a week of ego time, you can go incredibly far. The employee has time to think about what you have done well, what you can think about next week, and how you are feeling right now. Reflecting before finishing your work week also creates the opportunity to finish the week and leave work at work. Which gives a good weekend of much needed rest and time to recharge your batteries. Studies show that reflection reduces the feeling of stress and only it is worth 5-10 minutes a week.
Something I often come across in organizations is that leadership takes place in different weekly meetings to save time. In these meetings, the same individuals usually express their opinions and these opinions account for the whole group. However, those who do not like to "shout the loudest" at meetings also have very good things to say. By allowing everyone to reflect and the leader reading the reflection, all employees are seen, on their terms. Which we have seen creates a prosperous working climate.
Feedback
However, it is not only the reflection that is important, feedback on the reflection is at least as valuable in this context. Many managers believe that it should take unnecessary time for them to give feedback, but the 5 minutes the feedback takes are often saved on "unnecessary" questions from employees, questions that may actually be asked because the individual wants to be seen.
My tip is to give feedback on the journey to the destination rather than just on the result. Show that you see that the individual has made an effort and that you appreciate it. Encourage your employees to write about their thoughts, challenges, and how they've worked with their behavioral activities after your conversations. Avoid focusing on what they have done that can be seen in your other systems, it does not create reflection on development but only retifies something we already know.
Many people may think that, through written reflection, one risks losing the personal meeting. My experiences say the opposite, the written rather develops the personal meeting.
To require you as a manager to walk around to your co-workers every weekend and see them and ask them to tell them what they have been reflecting on is overpowering. We have seen that five minutes of reflection on our own and in text becomes more honest. It's easier to describe what you think in writing and you get your time to talk to the point.
Mentor helps your business reflect. Take the reflection seriously, it is a small time investment in relation to what both the organization, leaders and employees get out of it if you share your thoughts.
Good luck!
/Pia Nilsson, CEO and Founder, HR2 Systems