Reflective practice on projects: 7 models to try

Reflective observe is one thing that venture managers do often, though you won’t label it as that.

We frequently take a reflective strategy to venture efficiency via the processes of classes realized or retros. And also you would possibly do private reflections as a part of the efficiency evaluation course of, or 360-degree suggestions.

What does the Physique of Data say about reflective observe?

The APM Physique of Data 7^th Version doesn’t consult with anyone explicit mannequin of reflection or principle. As an alternative, it discusses the necessity for practitioners to be reflective (part 3.3.6) via a spread of methods that help persevering with skilled improvement.

Particularly, the BoK factors out that reflective practitioners don’t look ahead to data to be offered to them; they search it out from studying alternatives that come up throughout every day experiences and work. 

There are some nice theories and methods for that help private development and evaluating expertise which can be related to the office and on this article I’m going to share a couple of of my favorites.

1. Kolb

The following mannequin of reflection, and the one I exploit most, is Kolb. Kolb’s cycle of reflective observe is predicated on 4 levels, aimed toward serving to you deconstruct an expertise to study from it.

The levels are:

1. Concrete expertise: You expertise one thing, for instance a difficulty at work. I consider it helps to write down the expertise down or describe it to somebody so that you’ve got a transparent recollection of what occurred.

2. Reflective statement: Think about the sentiments this expertise introduced up. This may be associated to expertise and previous experiences you’ve got (or don’t have).

3. Summary conceptualism: On this step you do the training. It’s the lightbulb second; the chance to kind takeaways that come from the evaluation of the scenario. This might contain considering via totally different paths not taken that could be price doing subsequent time this case arises.

4. Energetic experimentation: The educational is put into observe when the scenario arises once more. The theoretical and considering levels are changed into experiential studying, observe and motion.

Step 4 creates a brand new expertise as totally different actions are taken (or the identical actions are taken in the event that they have been profitable). It’s a cyclical mannequin and the cycle begins once more as reflection on the brand new expertise continues.

You should use the reflective course of to contemplate your personal contribution as a venture supervisor and make modifications to your future actions.

2. Peer-to-peer

Peer reflection is speaking to different individuals who have comparable experiences and roles to you (friends) a couple of scenario. It’s fairly a wide-sweeping description of the conversations we’ve within the office day by day for instance, chats with my supervisor or different venture managers.

The reflection facet is utilizing the time with a colleagues to particularly talk about a selected occasion and suppose via what got here from that. for instance, it could possibly be sharing good observe and offering tricks to another person, or it could possibly be asking for an opinion of what might have been performed in a different way.

Peer reflection might occur one-to-one (like mentoring, or a gathering along with your supervisor) or it might occur as a gaggle (a facilitated dialog or a workforce assembly).

The expertise of speaking and sharing a couple of scenario is how the training occurs. Even when the individual says nothing a lot of worth again and actually acts within the capability of listener, the act of considering via the scenario in a approach that means that you can describe it and take into account it totally is the place the training can occur.

3. Kirkpatrick

Kirkpatrick is a 4-level analysis mannequin, created by Dr Donald L. Kirkpatrick within the 1950’s. It was primarily based on work by Dr Raymond Katzell and utilized to a office setting. It’s a approach of evaluating the effectiveness of coaching courses, utilizing reflective studying to uncover what behaviour change and outcomes are seen after a delegate has attended coaching.

Stage 1: How related, beneficial and interesting delegates discover a coaching course.

Stage 2: How a lot studying is taken away from the coaching course by way of data and expertise but additionally confidence and dedication to what they’ve realized.

Stage 3: Again at base, how a lot of the training is utilized to their day job.

Stage 4: What outcomes are achieved as a direct observe via from the delegate attending the coaching and making use of it at work.

Kirkpatrick appears to me that it might be finest in conditions the place there may be formal coaching happening so you could possibly use it to tell the way you help a colleague who’s doing venture administration certification or an apprenticeship. Ask them about how they’ll translate what they realized within the classroom or on their course into motion at work.

4. Boud

Boud is the only of the fashions I’ve checked out thus far. It covers expertise, reflection and studying so solely has three steps within the cycle, with the expectation that at every step you possibly can transfer forwards or backwards relying on what’s required.

It’s not very didactic in that there’s little element on what to do at every step, however I like that – what to do at every step would possibly look very totally different for every expertise and every particular person might want to mirror and study in numerous methods.

There’s little level in me requiring a mentee to create a written description of an expertise, for instance, if they’re a visible thinker who would like to attract out a timeline.

On the reflection step we must be reflecting on what occurred with the data of hindsight or extra up-to-date info, and that’s a helpful step to particularly name out.

Once I facilitate a classes realized assembly, this cycle is the closest to the expertise I attempt to facilitate in these classes for individuals.

Different reflective cycles

I discovered a useful resource from the University of Hull that described different reflective fashions:

Schon (1991) is totally different from the opposite fashions because it prompts you to consider reflection through the occasion and reflection after the occasion and the way these are totally different. In a venture setting, and in mentoring, we might usually have time to mirror through the occasion by taking a pause to contemplate what to say subsequent.

Rolfe et al (2001)’s mannequin was one I favored as a result of the language is easy:

• What? (descriptive step, just like Kolb step 1)
• So what? (theoretical step, just like Kolb step 3)
• Now what? (motion step, not just like Kolb as a result of it’s about creating an motion plan, not essentially finishing up the motion)

The ERA cycle (Jasper, 2013) looks like a contemporary, easy tackle different fashions and cycles. It stands for Expertise, Reflection, Motion. It is vitally simplistic and doesn’t, in my view, add a lot to any of the others. It’s similar to Boud with solely a small change of the phrase from ‘Studying’ to ‘Motion’. I’m fairly an action-led individual, however I might interpret Studying as additionally ‘placing studying into observe’.

All of those require private expertise on which to look again, and none require any reflective writing, though I do know lots of people do select to try this. Recording your ideas can flip the train into extra of a deliberate reflection as an alternative of one thing that’s hurried, and could be helpful as a part of your skilled improvement log and steady studying.

Do you employ any of those in your skilled observe as a venture supervisor?