The Importance of Practicing Self-Reflection
In my June post, School Leaders Must Use the Summer to Rest, Recharge, and Refocus, I shared the importance of reflection. I recently completed my reflection for the past school year, and I am always amazed at what actually transpired v what I remembered. We become so busy in our lives as educators and leaders that we forget all that happened (the good and the bad). We must take the time to reflect so we can build on positive experiences and learn from our mistakes. In her recent blog post, Lauren Kaufman stated,
“Education is a journey. If you’re not reflecting on the past to shift your practices for the future, you may be limiting your impact.”
To begin the process, I went back and read each monthly reflection from September through May. After reading the reflection, I made notes on a whiteboard of each month's themes, topics, wins, and challenges. This process took about an hour and was well worth it. As I sat down in the classroom and reviewed what I wrote, I was amazed at everything that happened during the school year, both personally and professionally.
I spent the year working with an executive leadership coach for the first time in my career, which was tremendously beneficial. He provided insights I was missing in my own reflection about how I was leading and interacting with our faculty. He pointed out areas for growth and areas of strength. Too often, we only focus on our mistakes or weaknesses, which leaves us questioning our self-worth. He was instrumental in helping me maintain momentum throughout the year by pointing out areas of success and strength instead of only focusing on weaknesses.
In reviewing the themes across the months, I saw times when I was supportive of faculty and times when I fell short. I reflected on what was happening personally and professionally in both instances so that I can grow as a leader. In the upcoming school year, I will look for the patterns I noted in the reflection and use them to help me grow and improve as a leader. This is an opportunity to expand my impact, as indicated in Lauren's quote.
I would argue the best part of the process was revisiting instances of support from those in my life. I followed up with individuals who I may have thanked in the moment during the year and chose to thank them again. I was filled with a sense of appreciation and gratitude for the help and guidance they provided me while I reflected on those moments.
As I look to the school year awaiting us in September, I am prepared for opportunities and challenges that will arise because of this practice. I know where I can continue to succeed and where I need to make changes and grow. I also know where to go for additional support when I need it next year because I saw the impact of specific individuals through my reflection.
I encourage you to take the time to reflect on the past year while looking ahead to the future. Peter Drucker's quotation in the HBR article, Why You Should Make Time for Self-Reflection (Even If You Hate Doing It), explains why:
“Follow effective action with quiet reflection. From the quiet reflection, will come even more effective action.”
For those looking for prompts or questions to get started, here are the ones I used for my reflection. If you have other questions or prompts you recommend, please leave them in the comments section.
Reflection Questions/Prompts:
- What are your general impressions about the year?
- Summarize the year in one sentence:
- What important events happened? (Which one event will you still talk about in 5 years?)
- What wins did you have this year? (professionally and personally)
- What single achievement are you most proud of? Why?
- What challenges did you face this year?
- What lessons did you learn this year?
- Which of your personal virtues or qualities turned out to be most helpful this year?
- Who are the people that mattered to you? (professionally and personally)
- Who was your number one go-to person that you could always rely on?
- What was your most common mental state this year?
- What's the difference between you at back-to-school meetings in August and now at the end of the school year?
- What are you grateful for? What, or who, are you most grateful for and why?
