Here we are at the beginning of September. I don’t know about you but it hardly feels like the summer had got going and we’re already at its end. September is one of the way markers in the year for me. We’re moving into Autumn, the start of a new ‘term’ or season, a point of review and the start of more forward planning.
Business planning is likely to loom large in the approaching months as new deadlines come into view. Given the massive upheavals of the last eighteen months it is probably a good time to revisit what has happened and how you, your group, or organisation have responded. Taking time for some reflection should enable you to make links between the experiences and ‘doing,’ and the intentions or ‘thinking.’
Reflection points can help in a number of ways:
- Enabling us to review our practice and work towards better outcomes in future
- Increasing awareness of the skills and attributes we have available as individuals or groups
- Assisting us to develop our skills in future
- Reviewing our assumptions and how well they connected with experience in action
- Evaluating the quality of our action planning and delivery
- Applying models, frameworks or comparator evidence
I find reviewing is often one of those peculiar things that most people agree is valuable to do but at the same time feels a bit like a luxury or self-indulgent. Granted there is often a lot of pressure to move on to the next thing, and past performance is no guarantee of future success. It is also not about proving you got everything right before. If we have learnt anything from our experience over the last year or so change can be fast and catastrophic, not all of us will have been able to respond perfectly. Don’t think about reflecting on recent experience as having to evidence everything was perfect but do consider what it demonstrates about you and your team, what has been learnt?
How would you like to work on the reflection:
- Will it be voluntary?
- Will it be required of everyone?
- Is there a model you’d like everyone to use?
- Will it be summative – drawing conclusions from past experience?
- And/or formative? Helping develop future action?
This needn’t be a time consuming or onerous task; I have been part of some great reviews that have taken no more than thirty minutes with a group. There are lots of different models you can use, one of my favourites that I may have mentioned before is the Four F’s, mainly because of its simplicity.
The four F’s are:
- Facts: A dispassionate account of what happened
- Feelings: The emotional reactions to the situation
- Findings: The tangible learning that you gained
- Future: Organising the learning in a way that you can use it in the future
Facts
This is the what, who, when, where phase. Try and stick to what actually happened – describe events – what happened first, what happened next.
- Did things happen as expected?
- Were there any surprises?
- What were your triumphs?
- Were there any critical incidents or issues?
- In what ways was your planning effective/not effective?
- Does everyone agree with the accounts of what happened?
- What most influenced how you responded?
Feelings
- What were your highs and lows, personally and as a group?
- What feelings did the situation evoke?
- Were you or the group able to express your feelings at the time?
- If so, what impact did this have?
- When did you feel most and least involved?
Findings
This is the analysis phase, where you can start delving into what happened – more of a focus on how and why.
- Why did something work or not work?
- What might you have done differently?
- How did the feelings above impact on what happened?
- What aspects did you feel were most or least impactful?
- How did you appraise or feed back during the period?
- What have you discovered – personally, as a group, or as an organisation?
Future
- How do you anticipate applying what you have learnt?
- What has already changed?
- What else would you like to change?
- How can what you have learnt inform your future planning?
- How can you act on your findings?
Be as honest as possible during the process. It can be helpful during the facts stage to keep asking – ‘how do we know, have we got evidence to support that view?’
If you want to be more playful with your reflections you could write letters to your past or future selves/teams or create a photo story based on the lats six or twelve months, or write a newsletter using the Four Fs format. You could ask the group to share the standout moments in a variety of formats or ask people what they would ‘stop, start, continue.’ Think about what works best for you and/or your group. We sometimes find that organisations are wary of being too creative in their reviews because governing bodies or stakeholders may not be appreciative. In our experience this is an assumption that needs checking out with those concerned.
You can determine who the audience is for whatever you produce, you might want to keep it between the team to start with and use a different format for wider reporting. Don’t underestimate those wider stakeholders we have found they often respond well to alternative approaches, imagine having to wade through endless text heavy reports!
Try and enjoy the opportunity to reflect, it can be a chance to celebrate what might otherwise be missed.