Reflecting on Reflection

I’m a staunch advocate of the practice of reflection. The benefits are extraordinary: greater ability in sense making; developing a better understanding of yourself and others; recognising connections between people and practices; creating and maintaining space and reducing cognitive load. It can be easy to drop it in times of pressure, but that tends to be when it has the greatest value.

I had the chance last week to facilitate a retrospective session with a team I’m not a part of. This is a huge learning opportunity as a coach. The less personal investment you have in the outcome of a discussion, the greater the chance to observe dynamics objectively.

We used a new format to frame this discussion — coming up with a bold assertion and asking everyone for examples of their experience that challenged or supported it. We supplemented this with a ‘magic wand’ category, asking what instant change you would make to improve the current situation. At first sight this looks to have worked well, giving attendees the space to discuss their own experience without over personalising. Not everyone chose to use their magic wand, and those that did used it many times. There is something to learn about individuals feeling empowered to bring their ideas to the wider group, or to hold on to some of them until there has been a broader contribution.

Depersonalising is key to effective team reflection. I shared Norm Kerth’s prime directive for retrospectives before the conversation started:

“Regardless of what we discover, we understand and truly believe that everyone did the best job they could, given what they knew at the time, their skills and abilities, the resources available, and the situation at hand.”

I followed this with a personal observation. We make this statement to avoid a finger pointing session. I asked everyone not only to avoid blaming others for any current failings in ways of working, but also to avoid blaming themselves. I steered everyone to consider the team, not themselves as individuals. The intention was to create a safe environment for everyone to express themselves.

Having had some time to reflect on the session further, I now think this was the wrong steer. In aspiring for safety I may have asked people to edit their authentic response — if people are ascribing individual responsibility for an issue, then it’s healthier to bring that into the open and address it rather than suppress it. Asking people to edit their responses may have been partly responsible for some team members not being ready to wield their ‘magic wand’. A mistake I can try to avoid in the future.

This felt relevant to a recent conversation I was having on leadership. We discussed the challenges of introducing reflective practice to leaders and leadership teams. I made this contribution:

“The main challenge I’ve experienced in trying to encourage reflection in leaders and leadership teams is that it necessarily requires individuals to demonstrate some vulnerability. I’d say this is a key attribute of a good leader but I suspect a lot of people in senior positions have got there by concealing their vulnerabilities rather than sharing them. So you get good outcomes in the moment, but it is very challenging to break down the conditioning and build a habit.”

As someone facilitating a group reflection I am assuming a leadership position. As someone who made an error in that facilitation it’s important that I acknowledge it to make sure I and the people I support can continue to improve. Even reflection itself needs to be reflected upon! These are the three actions I have taken from reviewing the effectiveness of my role in supporting team reflection:

Take your own objectives out of the discussion. A coach or a leader will quite rightly have personal goals and ambitions they would like to fulfil. There are appropriate places to consider these, but team reflection sessions are not one of them. Create a safe space for honest conversation, and observe without contributing.

Avoid creating obstacles to authentic response. When guiding the conversation, consider what topics you may close down as well as open up. Are you taking people out of the conversation, and how can they be brought back in?

Make the time to make improvements. If I hadn’t prioritised time to consider my role in this session, I may not have identified potential improvements to make. Ensure you have the resource in time and space to consider your own effectiveness, and invite feedback.