Reflective Practitioner - ReBUILD
There can be a danger that we view each incident as a binary pass/fail moment in any one point in life. The danger of this is that it becomes either a joy or a sadness. With experience of life, you can realise that life does continue after those ‘fail’ moments and that in fact they can be the making of you and help you to grow stronger as a result if you let them. When we view what we experience as part of a journey of growth, everything we experience has the potential to be useful to us. This all starts by changing our mindset from binary pass/fail to being a reflective practitioner.
Over the last 4 weeks we have looked at 4 elements that help us to become reflective practitioners.
ReVisit – Say what you see. What could sit at the root of it? How did it feel? What could sit at the root of it?
ReView – Evaluate what worked well and what could be better. Analyse and conclude.
ReFrame – What could this look like?
ReBuild – What is the one thing that could have the biggest impact? Consider the Priority, Partner and Plan.
So, how do we ReBUILD? There are 4 key steps:
1. Priority
2. Power
3. Partner
4. Plan
Priority
Life is complex and often when we are looking to develop and improve something, there will be a range of intertwining concepts involved. The key is to identify your current priority. What is most important to you in this moment?
Imagine a situation where a meeting has not gone too well. You have ReVisited and ReViewed it and realised the room wasn’t good, people had their own agenda because they don’t know each other as people and the pre meeting information wasn’t great. You know how you want the meetings with everyone contributing whilst taking turns. As you’re new to leading the team, the key thing you are focusing on is building relationship. This is your priority that drives your meeting rebuild. It's the first one you tackle. You will tackle the others later. But this is the first one.
Power
At the ReFrame stage of being a reflective practitioner you will have considered a number of different ideas that can help you improve. The key now is to consider which of these ideas can have the biggest impact and has the power to move the area of priority the furthest fastest?
Back to the meeting situation that needs to improve. You could change the meeting room. You could talk to the team about the big picture. You could ensure pre meeting information is organised better. All of them great to improve the situation. And yet the thing that has the greatest power aligned with the priority of relationship is getting to know each other as people, to build trust. Taking time at the start of the next meeting to get to know each other as people can have the biggest impact in the short and long term.
Partner
It is extremely rare that we have all the skills we need to move something forward. This is where knowing who to partner with can help you with an aspect about what you want to improve and also to help develop you.
So, in our meeting scenario, who can help you? Who are the allies in the room that already share the same vision as you? Is there anyone who has the skills to help facilitate a ‘get to know you’ session? Who can help with any of the practicalities and has particularly strengths eg in creativity for that part of the session, chairing or hosting a safe space?
Plan
After all these years in leadership, I have learnt one truth about plans. Big detailed ones are often too long for people to read or remember. Short and to the point means that people read them and can remember the key points. We generally remember 3 to 5 things. So, keep the key areas of focus to 3 or less if you can. When it comes to steps, just plan the first 5.
So, in our ‘meeting improvement plan’, there is one focus – relationship. What are the steps to take to deliver that?
1. Speak to person X about facilitating a ‘get to know you session’
2. Speak to person Y about writing the brief for the ‘get to know you session’
3. Book a room that has space for the ‘get to know you session’
4. Review with X & Y after the meeting on how it went
After you ReVisit and ReView how it went, you will follow the same process of ReFrame and ReBuild the next part. It becomes a simple circle of being a reflective practitioner. It doesn’t have to be rocket science to be a reflective practitioner. In fact the simpler the better.
Can we help you?
We hope this blog has been helpful and if you would like some more targeted support to understand a situation better and move forward then Everyday Leader is here to help you. Our clients find their coaching empowering, as we help them gain a full perspective and find a way forward. If you have a challenge and you would like our support, then do get in contact with us. Give us a call on 01449 710438 or email colin@everydayleader.co.uk if you would like us to help you explore this and empower you.
Everyday Leader is here to empower, inspire and equip you. If we can help you find a way forward, through coaching, training or consultancy, do let us know. Contact us now: colin@everydayleader.co.uk
