Making Workplaces Work Better

Reflective Learning:  Learning How to Learn

By Daniel Robin

As she thought about the past few days, the CEO surmised, "I’m not sure if we learned anything." The CEO’s usual charisma seemed strangely subdued, tentative. What could possibly be the value of "not knowing" something ... of not being so sure?  Navigating with curiosity and interest in what could be learned by every outcome and achievement (from to absolute dismal failures to even the most satisfying successes) helps leaders stay at the top of their game.  Learning and teaching are the master skills of the modern workplace, where the only constant is change.

Learning as Mastery of Self

The Chinese characters representing the word “learning” are revealed by combining (a) the verb to study — a symbol that means "to accumulate knowledge," above a symbol for a child in a doorway — with (b) a symbol meaning to practice constantly that shows a bird developing the ability to leave the nest. Together, these suggest that learning could be the "mastery of the way of self-improvement."  

Individuals and teams learn in a cyclical fashion, naturally flowing from planning an action, taking that action, then noticing the results and planning the next action based on reflecting for a moment. Managers and individuals need to find ways to tap into this rhythm — to create not only time to think and notice results and what they mean in the bigger context, but also for questioning assumptions and brainstorming solutions to what didn’t work the last time around.

If for no other reason, this provides a great rationale for taking a brief vacation, to interrupt the cycles of tension and stress that cloud judgment and tempt struggle.

Many organizational cultures influence people to skip this stage, partly due to assumptions about the way people spend their time. If someone is reflecting, it’s considered perfectly acceptable to interrupt them, because they’re "not doing anything."  And clearly "not doing anything" can't be good for productivity, achievement and ultimate success?  Not so.

Reflective Learning Made Easy

It is most unlikely that we will end up where we want to be unless we have both thought about where that is and directed our actions toward getting there. The key to reflective learning is to become a powerful observer of your own thinking, sensing, and acting.

Reflective learning takes practice. It’s a “process skill” that invites you to direct your attention in a different way, toward a “smarter, more effective” form of productivity.  Even if the discoveries are modest, at least this type of focus prevents the insanity of doing the same thing over and over while expecting a different result.

A questioning process for reflection was developed by the Institute for Cultural Affairs, a global social change organization. They use this four step reflection tool and it has equal value in business:

1. Data: Reflect on what happened. What did you do? What caught your attention?  What evidence do we have?  How did we (or can we) measure results?

2. Associations and Feelings: What worked? What energized you? What were the low points? What frustrated you?

3. Interpretations: What have been your most significant learnings? What are the implications of them? How does this apply to our key results areas?

4. Decision: How will you (we) be different? What will you do differently as a result?

You might actually write down your associations and feelings (Step 2) using two columns labeled 

A: What you liked,                 and                   B: What you didn’t like. 

After celebrating key wins under column A, use column B to decide (Steps 3 & 4) what you or the team will do to get these items into column A in future cycles.

Careful, We Don't Want to Learn Anything ...

Intact work teams and “communities of practice” are the true test of our capacity to learn and grow. If communication barriers and so-called learning opportunities are going to show up, teams and workgroups provide a fertile ground. How often do we take time from daily routines to address divergent thinking and perception, basic differences, untapped strengths? – let alone what we’re going to do about it!  Working with others can be a great teacher, just as any relationship can reveal important awareness about ourselves and how we operate.  If you can get your ego out of the way (avoid personalizing conflicts, for example), an increased degree of mastery will result.

Rearranging the Deck Chairs on the Titanic?

"When we talk," said a hospital administrator, "it’s always about a crisis: a financial problem, or a crisis on a unit. We never get to talk about the future."

As a culture hell bent on speed, we get so busy sawing our way through projects, meeting deadlines and preparing for appointments, we often forget to stop long enough to "sharpen the saw." Taking time out for reflection and renewal can prevent the irony of "being lost but making good time."  It also prevents the worst kind of burnout and frustration:  the type you didn't see coming.

With practice, a few minutes of reflection after key milestones can save you significant trouble down the road, increase productivity, and will make your worklife much easier to manage.

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