I loved college. You were required to work hard, but there were moments when you had the time to hear yourself breathe. One aspect of college life which always made perfect sense, was the opportunity to stop and review subject matter directly before a mid-term. This review process always seemed to settle the information in my mind, and helped me realize that I was actually learning something.
A little reflection can go a long way
Interestingly, we rarely seem to have the opportunity to reflect on what we have actually learned in our work lives. In our information packed, message intense world, we never seem to make the time. The information and experiences come at us at a break neck pace – but there are few moments to really pause and reflect. This deficit of reflection (and solitude) has been discussed quite intelligently in recent years, and it has also been pointed out that innovation essentially requires these types of moments to percolate– (read about that here.)
A review, reminiscent of the college mid-term variety, before we change jobs or at year’s end, would offer a mandatory moment of pause and reflection often missing in our work lives. This would provide an opportunity for us to obsess for a moment on the lessons we have learned, what has worked, and what has failed.
Take the time to make a note to yourself
If you take the time to form a list of the things you have learned, you might be very surprised. Even if situations or projects at work were not a total success, you learn from the process. When jotting down your thoughts, try not to defend or justify your work as you might do in a performance review. Simply emphasize what you will take with you moving forward – even if it’s something you vow never to do again.
I have not done such a review in a while. To that end, here is my review of a few lessons that I have learned in the past year.
- Long periods of change and uncertainty within an organization will inevitably have a negative impact upon employee performance.
- Letting employees flounder is not a management style – it amounts to neglect.
- Everyone benefits from a mentor, be sure your employees have the opportunity to find one.
- One unhappy employee can infect an entire work group. Be sure to address this issue as soon as possible – as a multitude of problems can develop if you do not.
So, what have you learned in the past year through your work? I would love to know – write me.
Dr. Marla Gottschalk is a Workplace Psychologist located in East Lansing, Michigan. Contact her practice at marlagottschalk@comcast.net. You can also find her on Twitter and Linkedin.
