Flip the switch for Reflection & Learning

Judith Barton

In my last blog I concentrated on reflection. Whether through writing the blog, I have reflected more or have written the blog due to more reflection and learning I am not sure.

However I do know truly effective reflection needs:



1. Time – not necessarily long periods of time but ‘ free’ time free from ‘spikes’ of thought - jumping or spiking into your reflective thinking.

2. Space – freedom to think, create space to think - include it in your daily to do list.

3. Clearance-Reflective Clearance© – without a clear mind the thinking, pondering and ‘openness of mind’ is not available to you and is crucial when working with clients.

4. Unblock and remove the debris – in reality this often means stop thinking about stuff that doesn’t matter, after we have created the time, space and clear the big stuff. There can be continual internal struggles that if not removed will act as a distraction and infect your reflective thinking.

5. Floating & Oxygen – Remember your mind should be ‘floating’ to think not solve, so introduce the space to think, I like to think of this as allowing the oxygen to flow through the brain.

Make reflection part of your DNA and see your practice improve. Flip from continually doing to a balance of doing and learning.

I would love to learn of your ‘best reflect moment’. What made it really work?

Write a blog and we will publish it*.

* All blogs subject to review and sending in a blog does not guarantee publication.

...Silence

Sanam Yaqub

Did you hear that?
It was the sound of silence.

Sir Conan Doyle had it right when his character Sherlock Holmes criticized Watson for only ‘looking’ and not ‘observing’. We all ascend the same stairs everyday at home, but do we observe how many steps there are?

Similarly, it can be easy to ‘listen’ to what your client is saying, but do you always ‘hear’ what they say?

Listening to what the client is saying and hearing what they actually mean is a skill that all coaches should develop.  A coach must not only focus on the clients spoken response but also pay attention to non-verbal clues, which can be imperative in guiding further questioning.

Techniques such as pausing after questioning, are essential in allowing the client time to think about their response – silence is where the thinking and change is taking place.

In addition, listening for key information and phrases can give clues to the clients thinking. Furthermore, paraphrasing, reflecting and summarizing what the client has said can help to develop the thinking of the client and ensuring that the coach has heard the clients response correctly.
Once effective listening has been mastered, open-ended questions can be powerful for extraction of information.

Listening is more than just sitting back and taking in the words of the client.

It is about picking up the clues in the unsaid words, facial expression and body language. So next time you are listening to your client, ‘observe’ and ‘hear’ the silence – it should speak volumes.

Sanam was CPD Leader at Dubai English Speaking School and now is the Head of Cultural Development.  Having completed the ILM Level 3 Award in Coaching with flying colours, she is now working on the ILM Level 7 Certificate in Executive Coaching and Mentoring with the British School of Coaching