By Becky Wright | 3 min
It seems as if 2016 will be talked about in the near future as the one where, at some point, someone was shocked. Recently, given the US elections, I have seen numerous posts, articles and think pieces all talking about what went wrong, who was to blame and what needs to happen next. Not to decry some of the very interesting ideas and solutions to problems that is being put forward, one thing screams out at me: it’s too soon.
One of the most useful aspects of doing a qualification in teaching was learning how to undertake reflective practice. This is a technique common across many professions and indeed, one of our supporters, the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy has an excellent description:
Reflective practice is a process by which you: stop and think about your practice, consciously analyse your decision making and draw on theory and relate it to what you do in practice.
Critical analysis and evaluation refocuses your thinking on your existing knowledge and helps generate new knowledge and ideas. As a result, you may modify your actions, behaviour, treatments and learning needs.
(for more of their resources on this head here and I will say that you will find something similar on a number of Unions 21 supporter union sites)
What does this mean in practice? Firstly, see reflection as a required process of work and to build it into your everyday. Take the five minutes to just look back on what you’re doing. This means that you don’t just wait til the final evaluation to assess whether what you’re doing is working and can make micro changes. Secondly, reflection as a tool only works if you allow yourself the time to step back. Absolutely assess your emotional responses to situations, the day, the campaign, the work but don’t allow it to cloud the questions you need to ask or the small changes you need to make. I say this as someone who can make decisions on the spot and started her campaign life very much making gut instinct choices. Thirdly, before you even begin the work that you are undertaking, formulate the questions you think you’re going to need to ask and answer every day. Being in the thick of something can sometimes lead us to ask the easier questions of ourselves; you need to challenge yourself and sometimes others. Lastly, don’t feel you have to give answers to everything all the time. Really give yourself time if you need it to assess the situation. This is key in final reflections and evaluations because we want to ensure that we’re asking the right questions and getting the right solutions.
At Unions 21, we work hard to make sure that we’re asking the right questions to enable unions to get to the right solutions. We are not about telling, we’re about asking what works and why something is working. In a world where everyone has an opinion, giving people the space to ask the much needed questions is a vital resource and reflection is a part of that. So, very much let us look at 2016, mourn the losses but don’t let it stop us from reflecting, asking the hard questions and meeting 2017 with a renewed purpose, strategy and vision.
