News Meg Carlson, co-founder and principal of The C&H Group, describes reflection as “Paying attention to things at a subconscious level.” Meg is a very driven, results-oriented leader who realizes she can get so “on task” that she stops paying attention to the subliminal inputs along the way that can make a huge difference in a business decision. For example, in trying to create the marketing position for her new firm, Meg kept up with industry news, current trends and general business trends. She read the information and then let it “sit in her mind” for a while. Next, she would “try out” a slogan, or concept that would come to her mind on an individual in order to get their reaction. It took over a year of trial and refinement through reflecting on the experience to finally feel convinced of her branding and positioning of her consulting firm. In the past, Meg would have defined it without trial and error and without reflecting on what works with her clients. Now she purposely slows down, looks for subtle input and signals on a daily basis that can arise from reading, working with other professionals and her own inner sense. Although each businesswoman interviewed had her own definition and tools she used for reflection there are a few established definitions from which to draw. The term reflective thinking or critical reflection is used “to describe a deeper experience resulting in questioning our assumptions and practices.” says Stephen Brookfield, professor and expert on learning. He believes the best way to do this is to “look at what we do from as many different angles as possible(1).” Reflection is a concept dating back to the enlightenment era where it was believed if individuals stepped back from themselves and spent time reflecting on their ideas, thoughts and actions it would lead to greater awareness and success. Deb Marlor is a perfect example of a business owner who would not be where she is today without the skill of reflection. Deb is founder and owner of a successful marketing firm, employing approximately 30 personnel and serving large Fortune 500 clients from her offices in Boise, Idaho. Deb’s definition of reflective thinking is “The way one processes and thinks about what occurs in their life.” One of her earliest experiences with reflection helped her to confirm that she made the right business decision. She had a large client for 15 months who recently reacted negatively to the pricing of a potential new contract. Even with a successful track record (helping him retain his clients by 80%) the client was questioning the pricing. As a response, Deb had her staff conduct a historical analysis of past work in order to prove to him the value of the new contract. During the analysis, the staff found an error resulting in a $50,000 past due loss to her firm. Deb was shocked to find that big of an error within her organization and began to reflect back on the old contract. After hours of thinking, questioning and remembering what decisions were made in the company at the time (her reflection process); she remembered making a change in the way sales receipts were tracked at the same time. She then initiated an audit and began the dialogue with her client to collect her outstanding debt and change their current collection procedure. Without the reflection process, Deb may have never been able to find, fix, nor collect on the $50,000 debt. She combined other important tools of business such as evaluation, critical thinking and research with her reflection in order to solve this concern. The biggest benefit Deb says she receives out of reflective thinking is a confirmation of her decisions. She is able to now avoid many of her past consequences because she reflects on the past experience and changes her choices the next time. Deb also uses reflection as a form of pre-planning. For example, in preparation for presenting a proposal to a client, she uses a visualization process first to imagine the possibilities of how the meeting might go, writes down her thoughts and then “sits” with them for a couple of days to allow her subconscious to process them. More often than not she is able to use this type of scenario development as a way to find the best approach for her presentation. There are other benefits to using reflection. Kit Brown claims it has helped her “to adjust to change more quickly and effectively.” She believes that “reflecting on your experience is how you learn from your mistakes. As an entrepreneur, reflection is the key to looking at all sides of something before you begin and finding the best route without getting stuck at the crossroads.” Sometimes reflection occurs in a more linear or analytical way. Leslie Gill, a past CFO of a major Fortune 500 corporation, describes her reflective experience as one of which she is unaware. Although Leslie does use reflection, her process is more unconscious. The tools she uses for reflection are charts, graphs and diagrams. Through creating these projections or data summaries, she is able to “consider” over and over again what is happening by looking at the data from many different viewpoints. She asks herself questions such as “Where does this come from, or what could be causing this?” These tools are created for her own pondering. She sits with them until they reveal new ideas to her. All of these women use reflective thinking in their own unique way. Some of the women use a coach, mentor or friend to bounce thoughts around. In doing so, they all declared that it was important that the listener not provide feedback nor fix the problem. Their reflection process was “a talking out loud of their own ideas”. Workshops, journals and reading a variety of unrelated materials to help reflect were other tools used for reflection. Overall the most widely used tool was what we call subconscious processing, the act of thinking or pondering on something without really being consciously aware that you are doing it. As Meg Carlson explains, “ I will be pondering a new assignment or problem and leave it in my brain for a couple of weeks, then when I need it two weeks later it is there and ready. It has been processed.” Described as a “cooking process” and “analysis process.” Many of the women interviewed had a similar phenomenon. In addition, they all acknowledged their “gut” or “intuition” was connected to their reflection process. It serves as a signal to pay attention to something inside or around you. Over time and with experience these successful entrepreneurs have learned that this quiet signal is a loud sign that they must enter into the reflection process. It begins with slowing down the decision-making process or impulsive response and then incorporating the reflective tools comfortable for your style. Tips for Reflective Thinking So how can you learn to incorporate reflection into your business routine? According to research as well as these four women, the skill may or may not be there inherently when younger, but reflection skills can be fostered or developed. In fact, all of the respondents agreed that age and experience helped them to take reflection seriously and use it frequently. They seemed to have trust in the process. Many of them watched role models in the workplace and learned from them. Others grew up experiencing reflection as a result of interactions with their parents. Some have taken classes related to intuition, critical thinking, and perception. Overall, the best way to begin is to pick one of the tools that fit your style and to consciously begin to plug it into your weekly routine. For example, if creating and pondering graphs sounds like your style of learning, set aside some time each week to create, consider and stare at the chart. If you prefer visualization, close your office door and give yourself permission to mentally walk through what might happen. Then wait a couple of days and do this again. In between your visualizations, new ideas will pop up in your mind that you can continue to incorporate. For those of you still uneasy about tackling reflective thinking, the minimum you could do is slow down and ask yourself a list of questions prior to moving forward. Reflective thinking may not be taught in business schools today. But critical thinking classes, which are a more rigorous, defined way of thinking, are beginning to show up on elite campuses. It is only a matter of time when reflection, which is the foundation for critical thinking, will be included in this curriculum. Looks like these women are ahead of the curve. Executive Profiles: Kit Brown: Kit Brown is the owner of Comgenesis, LLC providing consulting and content development services for clients in the medical and life science industries. Leslie Gill: Leslie Gill, MBA, currently owns and manages Western Image, Inc. a regional wholesale distributing company headquartered in Boise. Western Image imports and/or manufactures all manner of gift items and distributes them to retailers within the Northwest. Leslie is a former executive of a Fortune 500 company. Deb Marlor: Deb began her sales career in retail, and then moved into a management position with Manulife Financial Services. In 1981 Deb made the transition to the technology industry and worked for Breakthrough Software Inc., Computer Associates Intl, Radium Software, Inc. and Extended Systems, Inc. After 16 years of great success, Deb decided to break out on her own. Starting her sales and marketing services firm from her Boise home, Deb has grown DJM Sales & Marketing to a $1.4 MM business. |