Alternate between immersion and stepping back to reflect
Work through a stretch of real tasks, then stop to write what happened and what you noticed, and repeat the cycle rather than reviewing only at the end.
Why it works
The authors call “reflective action” the core of all their methods: “the process of alternating between being immersed in an experience and stepping back, reflecting and learning from the experience.” They say it runs through coaching, action learning and workshops alike. They say clients use it, together with attentional practices, to develop their level of awareness and intent.
How to do it
- Choose a stretch of work with several tasks or meetings, such as one afternoon or one project week.
- After each block, stop for about ten minutes and write what you were doing, what you were paying attention to, and what happened.
- Write one thing you would keep and one thing you would change next time.
- Once a week, bring two of your notes to a colleague or coach and talk through them.
Evidence
Reflective action is defined in the authors’ June 2006 interview, and the Reams 2007 review describes the book’s goal-setting chapter as focused on the power of reflective action. The sources read include no controlled study of the practice. (anecdotal)
The authors describe reflective action as central to their own methods. The sources read include no comparison group, so the claim about awareness and intent is not tested.
Sources
- Joiner, B., & Josephs, S. (2006, June). Leadership Agility with Bill Joiner and Steve Josephs [interview]. Integral Leadership Review, Fresh Perspective.
- Reams, J. (2007). Book review: Leadership Agility: Five Levels of Mastery for Anticipating and Initiating Change, by Bill Joiner & Stephen Josephs. Integral Review, 4.
Common mistake
Reflecting only after a crisis or at the end of a project. The method is the alternation itself: immersion, then stepping back, repeated.
Practice this with IX Coach
More practices for Leadership Agility: The Five Levels, Explained
- Balance assertive and accommodative styles in one-on-one conversations
In a one-on-one disagreement, notice whether you are pressing your view or holding back to keep the peace, and practice moving between the two as the situation calls for.
- Share responsibility for objectives and keep the accountability
Hand real ownership of objectives and coordination to your team, and be explicit about the accountability you keep as the formal leader.
- Scan the environment before you choose and scope an initiative
Before committing to a change, look at the conditions around it, write the outcome you want, and narrow the initiative to a scope you can actually shape.
- Map each stakeholder’s perspective before you try to align them
Identify the people an initiative affects, state what each one sees, and check your own assumptions about power before you seek agreement.
- Write the leader you want to be, then review what you learn
Put in a few sentences the kind of leader you want to be, compare that with one recent situation, and write down what the gap teaches you.
- Train attention with a daily practice such as meditation
Pick one short daily attention practice, such as meditation, and carry the attention it trains into meetings and one-on-one conversations.
Related concepts
- Torbert’s Seven Action Logics of Leadership
Seven ways leaders make sense of pressure, how common each is, and how to work with your own
- Adaptive Leadership, Made Practical
Distinguishing adaptive challenges from technical problems — and leading accordingly
- Vertical Development Practices: How Adults Grow, Not Just Add Skills
Heat, colliding perspectives, and sense-making — and what the research can and cannot promise
- Kegan’s Subject-Object Theory, Made Practical
Moving from being run by your assumptions to being able to examine them
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