Sometimes when I'm out with customers, I get into a discussion about communicating so much daily with your employees that you see the written reflection as superfluous. We already know everything, we talk so much to each other, why should we write too?
Then you have not realized the difference between communication and reflection in my world.
Of course, you can reflect together employees and managers. But it's not the same as me sitting down and writing down my reflection without taking into account that I'm simultaneously interacting with another human being. Of course, we think about the reception while reflecting. Of course, there and then we are influenced by each other.
Therefore, it is important that we reflect individually in writing. This means that we have to think for ourselves! We must take responsibility for our own thinking without being asked questions and without anyone thinking at the same time as I am thinking the idea myself. By writing, we can go back in our reflections to make sure that we do not stop and end up in a vicious pattern. There's a huge difference in that.
Of course, I'm not saying it's easy in any way. But should everything be simple? It costs to develop, I think. In Rolf, the manager can then take part of my reflection to give me feedback. Both can take responsibility and think individually. Individual reflection and feedback that should not replace communication but complement.
Sitting together is obviously important and I would like to stress that we should continue to do so, but it can never be the same as reflecting individually in writing.
Research shows that if we reflect 15 minutes a day in writing, we become 23% more productive without getting a higher sense of stress. The effect is rather that the stress decreases!