A morning reflection2/26/2024 Then when an item is re-folded, the outside turns inwards, and the inner part becomes outward-facing. A reflective mind turns its attention to its own activity. When you fold something, the surface comes face-to-face with itself. The Latin origin of the word reflection lends a nice image flect is a “fold,” so to reflect is to re-fold. Acting alone is thoughtless-we have seen enough of the consequences of that-just as reflecting alone is passive. All effective managing has to be sandwiched between acting on the ground and reflecting in the abstract. In fact, social activist Saul Alinsky wrote in his book Rules for Radicals (Dimensions, 1989) that something becomes an experience only after its meaning has been understood.Įxperts espouse a great deal these days about the importance of action in managerial work-managers must be doers. Eliot in Four Quartets wrote, “We had the experience but missed the meaning.” Reflection is about getting the meaning from everyday experiences. They need to step back from the action and reflect thoughtfully on the experience. Managers today desperately need to stop and think. Boot camps train soldiers to march and obey, not to stop and think. But neither does any company need to be an unrelenting boot camp. Some management development programs even promise more boot camp-you won’t get a chance to be lazy here, they claim. Keep marching, keep driving, and don’t slow down. Managerial work has become unrelenting boot camp. But how many managers these days are aware of this need? Why is reflection necessary? And how do they build reflection into everyday business life? These managers had become aware of the need for reflection. The executives were partway through the first week on the “Reflective Mindset” portion of our three-week advanced leadership program. “Take a moment at the end of meetings to reflect.” “A team can call a ‘time-out’ with a manager to halt a process that might be lacking reflection.” It’s part of listening and taking seriously what someone else says.” “Good conversations always have space for reflection. “Stop all this ‘do, do, do’ and put in time to reflect.” The following suggestions were made by a group of vice presidents of large North American companies: Reflecting a few minutes a day will keep you and your team on the right course.
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