Why Your Company Desperately Needs a Reflective Work Environment

“Without reflection, we go blindly on our way, creating more unintended consequences, and failing to achieve anything useful.” – Margaret J. Wheatley

Since the progression of the internet, the average person is inundated with a plethora of information all day. In this day and age, we have access to 24 hours of news, social media, online shopping, etc.  With all of this information at our fingertips, it is no wonder our brains are on a stimulus overload!

I know for myself, taking time away to not only unplug but reflect on my day to day business and personal life is essential for my sanity.  Recent studies have even shown how important reflection is for higher productivity and success in the workplace.  

Many times, workers are so inundated with to-do lists, tasks, meetings, emails, and projects there isn’t time to think and very little time to reflect. And in case you didn’t know, there is a difference between reflecting and thinking.  Thinking is when ideas and thoughts run through your head, sometimes in a helpful way so that you can take action with the task at hand such as, “Does this meeting conflict with my Dr.’s appointment? It does, okay I need to call and  reschedule that appointment right now.” Other times thinking can be ambiguous such as, “Ooooh I like her purple shoes. Maybe, I should have chicken nuggets for lunch! Wouldn’t it be fun to go to Bali!” 

Reflection is totally different than thinking. Reflection takes place when you observe your thoughts, actions, and situations both for the past, present, and even the future.  Reflection promotes growth, self-awareness, emotional stability, professionalism, and enhanced productivity. Some examples of reflective thoughts are: “How could I have finished that project more efficiently?  Maybe I should have called my colleague instead of emailing, I believe she misinterpreted my tone. Next time, I am going to send a weekly reminder to my staff so that they are aware of deadlines. How can I make sure my employees are getting the most out of our weekly meeting?”

Businesses have been jumping on the band-wagon in recent years and have provided time for reflection weekly and sometimes daily to their teams.  What has been discovered is that these self-reflective work environments have become not only more productive and successful but are also happier places for employees.  This sense of happiness comes about because when employees reflect they are able to balance their inner selves and come to a consensus and compromise. I am sure you are asking yourself how you could promote more reflection in your work environment. Take a look at the list below for different ideas on how to promote reflection where you work. 

• 1 to 1’s: Employers and team leaders should take time either weekly or monthly to meet with each of their team members to check-in.  The focus should be on them and how they are doing with their workload, colleagues, communication, and even personal life (to an extent).  This fosters a positive relationship, appreciation, and value.  

• Concerns and Solutions Game: Once every quarter, in my team meetings, I have my staff write a concern on a sticky note and a possible solution for that concern on the back of that sticky note. Then we throw all of the sticky notes in a hat, mix them up, pull them out and read them out loud.  The writer is allowed to remain anonymous because sometimes addressing a concern can be scary. I find this activity is one of the best ways for me to receive authentic feedback and dig deep into how we can improve our work environment, processes, communication, etc. You should definitely try it out! 

• Reflective Training: As a Curriculum Writer and Education Consultant I push for reflection in all of the training products my company creates.  Not only has reflection proven to cement learning for the audience but it also promotes this behavior within the work environment.  Setting up a training program that promotes team reflection and self-reflection is essential to fostering this behavior within your own company. 

• Feedback, Feedback, and More Feedback: I was in a tough meeting last week with a client and his team.  I have worked with this client for years and one of the team members was in the hot-seat for a mistake he made a few days prior.  My client definitely addressed it professionally and without embarrassing the individual publicly. Later that day my client called and asked for my feedback on how he handled the situation.  I was impressed because being brave enough to ask for feedback shows deep reflection and real leadership. No matter who you are, whether employer or employee, you should solicit feedback regularly in order to reflect on your performance and also for self-improvement.

As experts in the field of online learning, please reach out to us so we can provide you with a needs assessment on how to get you started on your next training endeavor. Email us at info@reachyou.media. We are here for all of your training solution needs!

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Maria Topliff, CEO and Founder

Maria has had more than 10 years of experience teaching online and creating eLearning Curriculum Design. As the 2014 North Carolina Online Teacher of the Year, she has traveled across the country for consultant work as well as public speaking seminars on how to create engaging online learning. Maria has created and revised more than 60 online courses and she has held numerous professional development training seminars both virtually and in person. With a dual Master’s in Multicultural Literature and Educational Leadership, she believes that Optimal Learning can only occur with instruction that includes real world and application based activities. As her professional experience grew, Maria has been able to see the critical need for engaging online learning across all industries. Her mission has always been to create exciting interactive eLearning, leading to increased productivity and success for all learners.

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