Many skills are required or even favored in the workplace. But a practice that is too often overlooked is reflection.
Key Takeaways
- There are countless benefits associated with reflection in the workplace.
- Reflecting gives us the power to learn new skills and analyze our strengths and weaknesses.
- Discovering our professional passions is only possible with reflection.
- Reflection improves our employees’ moods at work and beyond.
- Start by implementing reflective practices at home.
- Prioritize reflection at work by encouraging feedback and innovation.
- Host a team event with a hired comedian to truly inspire new thinking and perspectives.
Looking back on our professional progress in the workplace gives us the insights necessary to improve. And without reflection, workplace development and growth would inevitably falter.
So keep reading, and we’ll tell you exactly why reflection is essential in the workplace.
See Related: 5 Reasons Why You Should Be Rewarding Your Employees
What Is Workplace Reflection?
Today, everything is fast-paced. As consumers, we are focused on convenience and speed. And as workers, we often feel the constant need to act quickly and be rushed.
So it can be hard to take a second to pause. Besides, it’s easy to forget the importance of taking time to do so.
But one of the reasons why reflection is so forgotten at work is because we aren’t used to even thinking about it.
After all, we are constantly fed the idea that we should power through challenges and just work harder. Instead of focusing on self-awareness and introspection, we are told we should spend our time on productivity and practice.
And that’s one of the reasons why reflection isn’t as valued as it should be.
The Benefits Of Reflection In The Workplace
We have information available to us 24/7. Social media and the immense rise of the internet as a whole have made it so we can easily access almost anything with the click of a button.
Knowledge is instantaneously accessible to us. But that doesn’t mean wisdom and learning are also on the rise.
That’s why reflecting is so valuable. It’s an integral part of developing our own perspectives and becoming self-aware. Without proper reflection, we can lose our sense of growth and our ability to improve.
So let’s look at the specific benefits that reflection at work can bring to us and our employees.
#1. Reflection Helps Us Identify Our Strengths And Weaknesses
We are all unique, full of differences and individual strengths and weaknesses. And it’s necessary for us to understand these details about ourselves, especially in a professional environment.
We can even see that in something as simple as job interviews. After all, “What are your strengths and weaknesses?” is one of the most popular questions here.
The Key To Developing New Skills
Knowing your strengths allows you to capitalize on them while being familiar with your weaknesses helps you understand where to improve. This is how we develop new skills and boost performance.
Workplace leaders must encourage employees to reflect frequently on their daily life, work experiences, and professional achievements. Reflecting takes diligent practice, but that’s how we can truly thrive!
#2. Reflecting Helps Us Understand Our Career Path And Discover Our Passions
Our life usually doesn’t proceed in a straight line. And that applies to our professional lives as well.
But it’s hard to know what we want from our career, role, and mentors if we don’t reflect on it. That’s why it is essential to focus on what matters to you in this process.
From a job hunt to the grind for a new promotion, reflection in the workplace starts with some basic questions:
- What kind of organizational culture do you want to be a part of?
- What kind of daily roles do you enjoy doing?
- Do you appreciate a new challenge, or do you like a standardized routine?
#3. Self-Reflection Improves Moods And Expands Perspectives
It’s impossible to be happy, fulfilled, and content at work if we feel like a critical part of it all is missing. And that part is reflection.
As humans, we aren’t cold-blooded creatures. On the contrary, we need emotions and passion to thrive and be happy with where we are! And reflecting is necessary to materialize our focus and value the journey.
Taking time to reflect on our experiences, respond to feedback, or address our individual performance helps us feel more involved in our role. And this kind of engagement and productivity is key to improving workplace moods and mental health.
Employee performance is directly linked to how happy they are in their role. So encouraging your team members to prioritize reflection should always be a priority!
Reflection Is Active, Not Passive
There are many reasons to implement active reflection at work. But something important to understand is that reflection isn’t a one-step recipe or a short trip.
Reflection contains multiple layers of understanding and development. And the knowledge that you and your employees can obtain from this fulfilling journey is limitless.
The more you put into it, the more you get out of it!
Something so seemingly complex can be daunting to try to tackle. But, in fact, it’s much more simple than it may seem.
Starting Your Self-Reflection Journey
The main point of reflecting is to evaluate aspects of your life to determine what’s going right and wrong.
Without reflection, we go through life with little thought of different perspectives. That’s what causes us to stay in a bad job or relationship. We don’t take the time to properly evaluate our life.
But reflection has more profound benefits than just helping us to be better employees at work. It’s also essential for us to become better communicators who are more self-aware.
Reflective Practices In Your Personal Life
What’s the best way to start reflecting? First, you can quickly begin with some reflective practices in your own life before taking them to the office.
That will allow you to be more familiar with the process and let you more efficiently communicate the individual benefits of reflective practices to your employees.
Start by journaling or designating a specific time each day for reflective thought. Ask yourself questions like these:
- Did you recently embark on any meaningful travels?
- What personal or professional milestones have you had lately?
- Have you had any significant changes in your career, home life, or relationships?
- What are your past highlights? Do they involve certain people?
- Think about what has gone wrong.
- Was it within your control?
- What could you do differently next time?
- What’s something you want to change in your life?
Bonus: 4 Ways A Corporate Comedian Can Help You Prevent Conflict In The Workplace
How To Encourage Reflection In The Workplace
You can start to prioritize reflective practices at work in many different ways. And as a leader for your employees, it’s your responsibility to do just that!
Taking time to reflect at work can do more than help employees understand their strengths and weaknesses. It’s integral for improving engagement and productivity and giving your team purpose in their work.
Curious about where to start? Here are some fundamental ideas to set your team up for success.
#1. Ask For Feedback And Also Give It!
Feedback gives us the power to truly reflect. After all, there’s only so much we can do alone.
When those we interact with regularly can give honest, positive feedback, it helps us see ourselves from a new perspective.
As a leader in the office, you should make an effort to give your team members regular constructive feedback. And you should also be open to receiving remarks from your team on how you can improve as a boss!
#2. Host A Company Event That Will Inspire Your Team
It’s hard to reflect when we can’t leave our comfortable and familiar environment. New experiences allow us to genuinely look at our life and see what’s going right or wrong.
The best way to do that is by treating your team to a fun, memorable, and enjoyable experience. Hosting an event for your team allows them to bond and collaborate while enabling them to enjoy new perspectives.
The key to making your event impactful and positive lies in the speaker. The keynote speaker will set the tone and give your team members the fresh entertainment they deserve.
The Key To The Perfect Reflective Event
You’ll need to find the perfect speaker who can tickle the audience’s mind while indulging them in a new mindset. And don’t forget, they should also be funny!
At Clean Comedians®, our speakers can do all of that, plus more. All of our event speakers, whether virtual, in-person, or with a bit of magic, are 100% clean in their act.
After all, there’s nothing less insightful than crude humor or inappropriate topics. Of course, that’ll just make everyone uncomfortable, and there’s nothing beneficial about that.
That’s why our entire team at Clean Comedians® is clean. So you can focus on enjoying the show and expanding your perspective!
#3. Encourage Innovation And Experimentation
Many work leaders can be intimidated by letting their employees experiment with their roles and responsibilities. But this is how innovation and engagement thrive!
New ideas and fresh thoughts are what spark reflective thinking. And this is key to improving employee innovation and boosting engagement at work.
Some of us may not be a fan of the idea of thinking back on past failures or experiences to figure out what we can learn from them. But that’s a critical step in this process and the foundation of a successful future.
Growth and self-development are necessary skills to have, especially at work. And reflective thinking can get you and your employees there – and even further!
Keep Reading: 5 Key Ways To Inspire Employees For The New Year
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Adam Christing is a professional comedy magician, virtual MC, and the founder of CleanComedians.com. He is a member of the world-famous Magic Castle in Hollywood and a popular corporate entertainer, magician, and virtual speaker.