Question

Describe how reflection can be used to achieve team improvement.

Answer 1

Ans.

The Research demonstrates that encouraging your team to take on a reflective process is likely to improve job performance, especially when reflection is combined with an examination of the strategies employed to solve problems.

To take advantage on what science is proving us about the power of reflection, there are four main components that can be used to support this process with team:

1. Set up the time

Creating space in the week for your team to reflect has a much more meaningful impact when it’s designed during business hours. Setting up “meeting-free zones” which are dedicated to reflection time sends a powerful message to your team that you take the practice seriously enough to devote paid hours to it.

2. Select the right location

Teams that work in an inner-city environment should take advantage of nearby locations that provide exposure to nature. If these are not readily available, consider creating indoor or outdoor spaces with plants and trees, and seek out meeting rooms with natural light, especially those with windows overlooking green space.

3. Structure the process

Once you’re in those meeting rooms, how you structure your team meetings can be difference making for your business. Rather than a staff meeting that includes the typical status updates on projects, structure your meetings to encourage insight sharing. This can be accomplished by including “team insights” at the end of every meeting agenda, when individual team members are encouraged to share key “take-aways” from the discussion.

When individuals know that they’ll be asked to offer their insights at the end of a meeting, it encourages higher order thinking, listening and processing, which naturally builds reflection into your meeting process. Sharing in a team setting also allows the organization to benefit from the team’s collective insights and harness them to achieve better outcomes.

4. Apply proven techniques

Technology is wonderful, and each of us has a preferred digital device. Yet, science indicates that going “old school” has its value, especially when designing a reflective process.

To capture your ideas when reflecting, hand writing your notes is so much more effective than typing those ideas into your mobile device or laptop. Journaling by hand allows you to retain conceptual information over a longer time period, enhancing your capacity to apply that information when confronted with future challenges.