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Finding IT: Getting to the Heart of Reflection
How to survive the world of whitewater? A. Reflect on who I am.
“I’mtrying each day to understand my purpose in lifeas it affects my relationship with God,” is onereflection. Other reflections in this articleinclude research and survey results from 80 business professionals related to the abovedilemma.
Q.
TREND
In a world besieged by doing more with less,working smarter not harder, and increasedvelocity, people’s purpose and focus isincreasingly fragmented. We have permanentlyentered the “world of white water” – Peter Vaill’s (1996) phrase to describe theunpredictable environment and turbulent wavesof change in which we work and live. Havingentered permanent white water, we all mustlearn to personally and professionally ride theseconstant waves of change. Popular businessliterature suggests that a trend or fad, likedeveloping a learning organization, will helpindividuals and organizations cope with whitewater. Instead we need to heed wisdom that hasroots as deep as the immortal Greek philosopher Plato: “know thyself” and “an unexamined lifeis not worth living.” Plato’s ancient wisdomreveals the importance of self-development andreflection as a vision for individuals andorganizations. The vision of having a high level of self-awareness is essential for individuals andorganizations’ progress. Evidence exists that thevision is becoming a reality for some individualsand organizations today, but not for others.
Successes:
There is a transformation of meaning happeningin the workplace, said Carrie Bassett, owner of Wise Ways Consulting. Workers arequestioning meaning and making their “inner-world more evident to the outer-world” withintheir organizations. For Target, reflection is acritical learning and development component for its employees on all levels, said Jeffrey Swartz,a consultant with the Leadership and TeamDevelopment group at Target. One example isTarget’s Executive Leadership program. Thereflection tools used in the program include self-assessments, 360-degree feedback, journaling,coaching, mentoring, and open forums for discussion and synthesis of data.
Challenges:
It is not even a reality for a lot of organizations,Bassett explained, because for manyorganizations, intrapersonal development for individuals is not part of the culture. In fact,only 15-30% of organizations are long-termreflective companies that are committed toemployee development, explained Michael Norman, an organizational developmentconsultant who specializes in servicedevelopment. With a tool called “The LearningOrganization Assessment,” Bernie Saunders, a partner with Integra Learning Systems, Inc., hasindividuals assess their organizations. He saidthe following statement specifically addressesreflection: “There is sufficient time scheduledinto people’s professional calendars to step back from day to day operations and reflect on whatis happening in the organization.” According toSaunders, individuals always rate the questionnot at all or to a slight extent.
TO KNOW THYSELF
astery of the outside world starts with the practice of mastery deep within oneself.Goleman (1995) argues that those who areemotionally intelligent (the ability to understandyourself; how you think, feel and what you wantout of life) are at an advantage in any domain inlife. He refers to the foundation of emotionalintelligence as intrapersonal intelligence -- oneof Howard Gardner’s seven multipleintelligences. Someone who possesses a highintrapersonal intelligence is often described withthe terms: sense of self, self-awareness, self-knowledge, wisdom and intuition. Kline andSaunders (1993) state that everyone in the work force who undertakes the journey of self-discovery becomes more of an asset because
M
1
engaging in inner contentment and developing alife plan is one of the best ways to celebrate life!
Research Results: The “I am” statement
The participants were asked to complete thesentence “I am…,” Their results are coded intoseven themes.
•
self-description
: “I am thoughtful and kind.”(16%)
•
self as work
“I am concerned about my position.” (8%)
•
self as being:
“I am a spiritual being inhuman form.” (16%)
•
self as process:
“I am in the midst of anageless journey.” (24%)
•
self as roles:
“I am a mother.” (10%)
•
other:
“I am almost done.” (6%)
•
Left blank
(20%)Robert Coles’ (1976) extensive interviews withmiddle-class Americans reveals how they relatewho they are (I am…) with a reference to thework that they do: “…they feel they
are
whatthey do: ‘I am a policeman’ or ‘I am amachinist’” (p. 37). However, only 8% of the participants in this study, who are middle-classAmericans as well, described themselves with areference to the work that they do. One reasonfor this discrepancy is that participants may haveshifted the focus from Coles’ research indicating
self as work
to the current journey of
self as process
. Since
self as process
(24%) is threetimes that percentage (8%), it indicates the trendof workers searching for fulfillment, purposeand meaning.
AN UNEXAMINED LIFE IS NOTWORTH LIVING
eflection is one of the best ways to developintrapersonal mastery and enhance the
R
quality of what we do and how we live.Reflection is “the process of stepping back froman experience to ponder, carefully and persistently, its meaning to the self through thedevelopment of inferences. When a personengages in reflection the person takes anexperience from the outside world, brings itinside the mind, turns it over, makes connectionsto other experiences and filters it through personal biases” (Daudelin, 1996, p. 39).
Research Results: Reflection Methods
There are many ways to reflect. Out of thefollowing 14 methods asked, participantstypically used 10 either on a personal and/or professional level: journals, affirmations, prayer,mental imagery, mind mapping, meditation,silent time, exercise, music, coaching,mentoring, performance appraisals, self-assessment, and planning.The three most common methods used are planning (95%), Self-assessment (82%), andMental Imagery (76%). Half of the professionals surveyed
do not reflect
with mindmapping (56%), meditation (55%), or journals(54%) which could enhance their personal and professional development. If organizationswould spend a portion of their training budgetson introducing and supporting a variety of formal reflection methods, then it would notonly be a valuable learning opportunity for theemployees but for the organization as well.Reflection is crucial for learning. Vaill (1996)says that in order to keep abreast of permanentwhite water, learning needs to be a way of being.Swartz said that self-reflection is often the mostworth while, yet most difficult way to learn. Heexplained that discovering and owning-up tothese personal insights could sometimes be painful. Mary Jo Hanson, a consultant whoworks with learning organizations, says thatasking the right questions provides goldenreflection opportunities: “The wisdom is moredeep for them when it comes from inside of their self.”
Research Results: Reflection Value
Participants rated “myself” and “my company”on the value of reflection with a 5-point2
16%8%16%24%10%6%20%descriptionworkbeingprocessrolesother left blank
agreement scale with
1
being I
strongly disagree
and
5
being I
strongly agree
. What do these results tell us about the role andvalue of self-development and reflection? These professionals value reflection and believe it is avaluable part of their learning, yet they don'tnecessarily get the support from their organizations to reflect. Reflection can beincorporated personally and professionally manydifferent ways, whether it is designed intotrainings or built into schedules. In whichever way it is incorporated, participants’ resultsindicate that reflection is a valuable tool that promotes self-development, individual learningand organizational learning.
SUMMARY
In the midst of the world of white water lies thelatest workplace trend which urges us to jumpon the buzzword bandwagon or to heed Plato'ssimple and time-tested ancient wisdom of self-development and reflection which urges us tolook within our selves for guidance. Those of uswho see
self as process,
are willing to discover who I am -- know thyself -- and engage inreflection --an unexamined life is not worthliving.How will
you
survive the world of white water?
References
Coles, R. (1976). Work and self-respect. Daedalus, 105, 29-38.Daudelin, M. W. (1996). Learningfrom experience through reflection.Organizational Dynamic
s
, 24 (3), 36-48.Goleman, D. (1995). EmotionalIntelligence:Why it can matter more than IQ
.
New York: Bantam Books.Kline, P. & Saunders, B. (1993). TenSteps to a Learning Organization
.
Arlington,VA: Great Ocean Publishers, Inc.Vaill, P. B. (1996). Learning as a wayof being: Strategies for survival in a World of permanent White Water. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Janae Bower
is an inspirational teacher, business consultant and award-winning author of the book
The Little Girl Who Found IT.
Sheworks with organizations and individuals to helpget IT. You can contact Janae at janae@findingIT.com, 612-554-1367 or www.findingIT.com to find out more about the book and her work.3
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Q. Reflection time encourage
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Q: Reflection is wasteful
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Q: Reflection valued for learning
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Q: No personal value from reflection
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