A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure and joy of presenting to nearly 300 women leaders in higher education in the state of Wisconsin. I was excited and honored to be asked. The organization is celebrating their 25th anniversary and wanted to talk about reflecting on their successes and ways to set the path going forward. It makes my heart jump for joy to see more leaders and organizations wanting development opportunities for personal and leadership development and growth. As we got started, technology cluster number one putzed out. Ok, typed in the chat “Getting on a new computer, BRB!” Technology cluster number two went great for about 60 seconds and then, BAM, putzed out. Oh boy. Typed in the chat, “Getting on another computer, BRB.” The other computer and last piece of technology I could use was my phone. I was able to get the presentation to our organizer, and we walked through the content and activities. Good thing I tested my equipment the night before and had my backups ready, ha. They had to be used. I’ve had glitches here and there in the past, but this was a full meltdown of all my technology. I am grateful everyone hung in because we had fantastic conversation and interaction through the session. My heart is happy when there are “ah ha” moments for people, learning and growth. Even with the hiccups, the session was a success.
The tech mess ups made me stop and reflect on how I reacted in the situation after I finished. Inside, I was so fuming mad and ready to burst into tears. I chose to laugh as we kept moving from one computer to another. I did run tests. I had backups. I had a plan. If this had been six months ago, I’m not sure I would have reacted the same. You see, this has been one of the most disruptive and transformational years of my life – personally and professionally. This tech meltdown experience made me stop and reflect on why I laughed. My personal reflective process has helped me maneuver what are still some pretty intense changes and uncertainties. I can see the fantastic opportunities in front of me, and I balance that with a real level of fear of the unknown. My personal reflective method is in the form of a self-made journaling process. It has been my guide to understanding my journey to this point, helping me to respond to events with a more optimistic attitude, and providing me with the best path to progress forward with success.
The process I use for reflection is in 4 parts:
Pause: stop. Take time in the uncertainty and chaos to take in what is going on around you. As leaders, we tend to run Mach 40 with our hair on fire thinking “I don’t have time.” You do, and you must. You can also take Vanilla Ice’s advice to “stop, collaborate, and listen,” but I’ll leave that up to you. 😉
Review: what are you experiencing and observing around you? What events are happening? This review is important to have focused on you, but review can also include the events others are experiencing – what are you observing happening to others?
Consider: what meaning and interpretation are we putting around these experiences and events in our lives? Remember, when we are going non-stop, it is easy for our lens – view of the event – to become clouded and not always correct. This doesn’t not mean that what you are feeling isn’t real or that you are not allowed to feel the way you do. It is important, though, for us to pay attention to the meanings and interpretation we place on the experiences and events in our lives.
Create: when we have paused and really taken the time to review and consider, we can start to create meaning. The journey that brought you to this point holds meaning for all of us, hopefully in an optimistic way. This meaning is where our learning arises. My response to three technology breakdowns could have been, well, pretty much crap. LOL. Instead, my reflection process on this year’s events has helped me see these “blow ups” as something humorous. Will that always happen for me? No. It sure feels better to laugh though. The learning we make from this reflective process guides how we will move forward. It informs our mindset. It affects how we respond – physically, emotionally, and spiritually. It affects our decisions and how we interact with others. This is why pause, review, and consider are important parts to this reflective process.
Note: the reflective process can be very difficult for those who are pausing after traumatic events. While reflection can be a powerful tool for growth and movement forward, do reach out for help if you have experienced a traumatic event you are reflecting upon.
Now here’s the deal with reflection. My process utilizes journaling. That is what works for me. You do you. Don’t worry about what others are doing. Maybe your reflective process is gardening, MMA workouts, hiking, painting, fishing, singing, volunteering, writing…it doesn’t matter what you choose as long as you pause, review, consider, and create. There is time to pause. We must pause because the uncertainties of the last few years are still enormous. Those uncertainties are also full of opportunity in the best ways possible. We can’t see those opportunities though if we do not reflect.
One final comment, for me, reflection is also about celebration:
It’s about celebrating the wins AND losses.
It’s about honoring what is now. We may not be right where we want to be, but we made it this far.
It’s about visioning the way forward – and being flexible when the uncertainties show up.
It’s about celebrating the human spirit in all its glory and flaw.
It’s about celebrating each other and lifting each other and helping each other grow.
So, what is your reflective process? How can I help you build a process for yourself? How can I help you strengthen your current process? 2023 is going to be filled with opportunity. Let’s take advantage.
Important: in light of the senseless violence, we have experienced in the last few weeks with multiple mass shootings, I am imploring leaders in every industry and organization to seriously think about their reflective processes. There is still a great deal of change, uncertainty, and fear among everyone, especially at work. Pause for yourself. Pause for and with your team. Pause for and with your organizations. Pause for and with your neighbors. Pause for and with your communities. All of us can utilize a reflective process to help ourselves grow and help each other in positive ways. Let us work together to rid our organizations and communities of this hatred and violence. Let’s pause and review the journey that got us here, and then work to move forward with progress and growth. Thank you.
Additional Resources:
The Power of Self-Reflection – Harvard Business Review
The Power of Self-Renewal – Stanford Social Innovation Review