[Flash] Do You Reflect After Each High Jump?

This week, the field and track events at the 2024 Olympics in Paris highlighted Australian high jumper Nicola Olyslagers and her post-jump regimen. ?

The world watched her sprint to a journal after each jump, grab a pen, and start writing.? ?

As Nicola explains, she captures how she feels and then rates herself from 1-10 on technique (run-up, take-off, and execution). “It allows me to ask, ‘What do I need to work on?’ rather than get carried away by the emotion.” ?

Nicola has incorporated this disciplined, reflective practice into her routine. ?

Why? Because we learn from our experiences not by running past them but by leaning into them. ?

Diligently, Nicola pauses after each jump to ponder her performance and consider how she could refine her next jump. ?

And it worked! Her commitment to incrementally improve earned her the silver medal! ? ?

While our high jumps look different, the enormous value of self-reflecting is universal.? ?

A “high jump” is any event where growth matters because success matters to us:

• a weekly team huddle
• a monthly presentation
• a quarterly client review
• a job interview
• a sales pitch
• an interaction with leadership
• a mentoring conversation

When we assess our performance in that event and measure our execution, emotional state, interactions, or outcome, we can make adjustments like Nicola did after every jump. ?

For example, these measurements inform a reflective practice:?

• Sleep scores
• Steps
• Splat points (from OrangeTheory Fitness)?
• Calories
• Weight
• Blood pressure
• Expenses

Based on these routinely curated scores, we set goals, make adjustments, and improve various aspects of our lives.? ?

Amazingly, the intentional focus required for?self-reflection can calm us in chaos,?while incremental improvements can bolster our confidence. ?

In mentoring, reflection is essential for the learning process to occur.?

1. A mentor critically thinks about an experience to articulate learnings and share advice. ?
2. A mentee reflects on an experience to gain a deeper understanding and explore how to apply those insights to future situations.

The magic lies in the simplicity of the reflection.? ?

These 7 potent questions can readily structure a reflective routine for any “high jump:” ?

1. What happened??
2. How did I feel?
3. What worked?
4. What didn’t work?
5. What did I learn?
6. How could I have handled it differently?
7. What will I do differently next time?

If you want to improve your resilience, performance, leadership, and joy, consider reflecting after your next high jump! ?

? 2024. Ann Tardy and MentorLead. www.mentorlead.com. All Rights Reserved.

ps. Have you registered yet for our 2024-Q3?complimentary webinar?? "Boost Mentoring Participation: Harness Motivational Assessments to Drive Employee Engagement and Retention" Date: Fri Aug 9?@ 10am PT | 11am MT | 12pm CT | 1pm ET Register: www.mentorlead.com/webinars