5 Reflection Mistakes Every L&D Professional Should Avoid

When you scroll through social media, it appears everyone is taking time to reflect. That said, my experience in meetings, conference workshops, and Friday afternoons tells a different story. We often say, “let’s take time to reflect,” but it becomes a quick 30 seconds as everyone shuffles out the door.

Then what does it really mean to reflect? Do you envision someone perched on a pillow in a beautiful green forest, legs crossed, and eyes closed? Or do you imagine the person on their commute home, taking a deep breath as traffic slows to a halt again as the groceries get warm in the trunk?

We can reflect in various ways. Whether on a pillow, at our desk, or in our car, reflection is a powerful tool that can strengthen our memory, improve our performance, increase our self-awareness, and even boost our motivation to learn. Adding reflection to our habits can move our ideas to action. Reflection can look like many different things, but from where I sit, it has two important ingredients:

Recall our experience + identify specific future action

With this definition in mind, it becomes easier to distinguish our wandering thoughts from true reflection. But to be successful reflectors, there are five easily made mistakes to avoid. We’ll look at these common issues from the perspective of meetings or training, where you ask others to reflect, and the individual reflection you do for yourself.

Mistake #1: Not planning time for reflection

It’s easy to save reflection for later. When we facilitate training or meetings, we often add it to the end, only to skip it when we suddenly realize we have 15 more slides to cover and a group ready to catch their five o’clock bus home. In our own lives, we usually have every intention of sitting down to reflect but find ourselves dragged into other tasks instead.

To reflect, we’ve got to plan to reflect.

Methods for Meetings and Training:

• Build reflection into your entire experience.

• Plan time for pre-flection, mid-flection, and final reflection.

• Schedule follow-up for actions identified during reflection.

Methods for Individual Reflection:

• Place it on your calendar and mark yourself out of office.

• Create a regular reflection ritual at the end of your week or to begin a week, whatever works best for you.

Mistake #2: No clear direction

You’ve planned for reflection in your training design or on your calendar. You’ve found a distraction-free location, now what? What are you supposed to do? How long? How do you know if you are doing it “right?”

Successful reflection needs direction. It’s helpful to set your reflection expectations for participants and for yourself.

Methods for Meetings and Training:

• Share where you’d like everyone to reflect: Written? Sticky notes? Open discussion?

• Tell them how their reflection will be used. Are you collecting it, discussing it, or does it remain private?

• What do you want them to focus on—the last project, objective, activity, or an entire experience?

Methods for Individual Reflection:

• Find a place where you are least likely to be interrupted.

• Choose one notebook or document you can return to.

Mistake #3: No clear structure

How much do you enjoy sitting with a blank page in front of you? Probably not much. We all benefit from prompts and frameworks within which to work.

Use a structured activity. Consider the outcome you want to achieve (for example, self-awareness, strengthening memory, and sharpening critical thinking). Select an activity with that outcome in mind.

Methods for Meetings and Training:

Provide a framework:

• Start-Stop-Continue-Change—write responses to each.

• I Want-I Will-I Wonder—reflect on each of the statements.

• Identify three things you learned and set a date to implement each.

Methods for Individual Reflection:

Use a proven framework like weekly documentation of:

• Where was I surprised this week?

• Where was I frustrated?

• Where did I fail?

Mistake #4: Not knowing where you’re going

We don’t typically jump in a car without directions. We need to think about reflection in a similar manner. People want to know where their reflection will be used.

Before you ask people to reflect, tell them how the reflection will be used. Will they discuss their reflection with a peer? Will they share in small groups or with the entire room?

Methods for Meetings and Training:

Clarify how reflection will be used:

• Kept private

• Shared on a wall or virtual space

• Discussed in small groups

Methods for Individual Reflection:

Determine:

• What are you doing with your reflections?

• Will you carry them into team meetings or keep them private?

Mistake #5: Not planning to follow up

You’ve taken time to reflect. You’ve used a framework that works for you and written key points you want to remember with actions you’d like to take. Well done. But, now what? If you don’t follow up with the actions from your reflection, you’ve missed a golden opportunity. Reflection is about future action. Plan for the follow-up.

Methods for Meetings and Training:

• Set a follow-up date.

• Identify an accountability partner (peer, friend, or family member).

• Follow up.

Methods for Individual Reflection:

• Set follow-up dates for your actions.

• Regularly review your reflections. Notice your progress and your patterns.

Wrap-Up

We all know the value of reflection. Taking a few extra steps can increase the value of our reflection.

Before you move on to the next thing in your day, pause for a moment. Write down one idea that resonated with you from what you just read. Then, decide what you want to do with that idea. Write your action down on your calendar. Make time for it. And consider sharing what you will do with a coworker, a friend, or a family member.

Want more than 45 more activities to help add reflection to your meetings, conferences, and training? Check out Learning That Lasts: Reflection Activities for Trainers and Designers.