Reflection Circles for Leadership Development

I’ve just finished facilitating a programme of Reflection Circles for leaders of a major corporate client. It was a spin off from a bigger leadership development programme that’s been running for 3 years now, and it’s been one of the most interesting and rewarding leadership development interventions I’ve delivered for a while. So, I thought a bit of reflection on the process would be useful.

Why Reflect?

The idea behind Reflection Circles is that investing time in personal reflection is vital for leaders who are seeking greater self-awareness and more contextual insight. Reflection helps leaders explore their values, and gain insights into their leadership style and impact. It’s been shown to improve problem solving, personal effectiveness, learning, career progress and personal wellbeing. Reflection is the way we integrate and make sense of current and past experience, existing knowledge and new formal learning. Yet while many leaders are aware of the value of self-reflection and yearn for more time to do so, very few are able to overcome the often self-imposed, day-to-day pressure to be ‘on top of things’ or the wider cultural pressures against taking ‘time out’ to step back and take stock.

Reflection Circles: What Are They?

Reflection Circles are structured, carefully facilitated, gatherings designed to protect time for self-reflection. They typically involve a small group of leaders coming together regularly for one hour or so to reflect, share experiences, and support each other in their leadership journey. They’re also an opportunity for participants to broaden and develop their repertoire of reflective practices and find out what works for them – to develop their own “reflective rhythm”. The ethos of Reflection Circles seems to fit well with current attempts by many organisations to reduce information overload, fragmentation of time and continuous multi-tasking through such things as ‘quiet day’ initiatives. As one participant in a recent Circle programme said: “It’s a quiet space we have together.”

Reflection Circles: Key Features

The primary goal of Reflection Circles is to foster continuous learning and growth among leaders. Participants are encouraged to challenge their assumptions, explore new ideas, and adopt reflective practices in their daily leadership practice. Circles can be designed into leadership programmes that are delivered over several weeks or months or they can stand alone, for example, as a follow on for the alumni of in-house or open leadership development programmes. Here are some key features typically associated with reflection circles for leaders:

·?????? Small Group Format: Reflection Circles usually consist of a small group of leaders, typically ranging from 4 to 10 members. This size allows for intimate and meaningful discussions while ensuring everyone has an opportunity to actively participate. I’ve run Circles for up to 20 people but of course the nature of the experience is different in larger groups. Small groups allow for more mutual support and interaction such as co-coaching, while large groups tend to be more focused on guided reflection exercises led by the facilitator. Even in small groups I notice that participants really value the opportunity of just “being quiet together” and don’t necessarily want to share a great deal.

·?????? Regular Meetings: Reflection Circles typically meet on a regular basis, such as weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly. One of the advantages of Circles is that they are flexible and can be scheduled around increasingly diverse work patterns; and because they are easy to run on-line, they’re very accessible and inclusive. Mostly the Circles I’ve been running meet monthly. The most recent series involved seven monthly meetings. This seems to be frequent enough to build a rhythm and continuity whilst allowing time for participants to go away and experiment with new reflective practices or apply lessons learned from reflection in their leadership practice. Consistent meetings allow participants to build rapport, delve deeper into topics, and track their personal growth over time.

·?????? Reflective Practices: Each Reflection Circle does two things: firstly, I use short form guided reflection using question prompts (5 questions in 5 minutes) to explore a theme or perspective on the participants’ professional experience – gratitude, creativity, feelings, learning and so on. ?Secondly, in each Circle I introduce a more in-depth tool or practice that will help participants go deeper to examine their values, uncover assumptions or see their leadership challenges from different or surprising perspectives. So, the Circle is a space for reflection but also an opportunity to learn about the reflection process. Participants also usually commit to keeping a journal between sessions.

·?????? Safe and Confidential Environment: Trust and confidentiality are essential components of Reflection Circles. Over time participants feel increasingly safe to share their experiences, challenges, and vulnerabilities without fear of judgment or repercussion. Inevitably new Circles take a while to establish mutual trust. Participants new to Reflective Practice, or to Reflection Circles, often don’t know what to expect. They worry about falling behind with their work or being asked to over-share. As one participant said: “At first I thought ‘Oh no, why did I volunteer for this?’ but now I realise I need that time”. So, it’s been important to ease in and establish a setting where participants feel relaxed and in control. I generally focus the experience on guided individual reflection and don’t create unrealistic expectations about sharing personal reflections on leadership challenges. This often emerges over time but not everyone is comfortable doing so and I always try to avoid putting people in a situation where they feel under pressure to share.

·?????? Peer Support and Feedback: Reflection Circles provide an opportunity for leaders to give and receive support from their peers and share their experience of reflection. This can be particularly important in encouraging each other to try new reflective practices between Circle meetings. It’s been noticeable that participants have taken the reflection practices shared in the Circles into their teams and have started setting time aside in team meetings for more collective reflection on experience. As one participant commented: “It’s something I’ve tried to encourage my team and boss to do and create time not to be just focused on tasks.” Constructive feedback, encouragement, and different perspectives from fellow leaders can be invaluable for personal and professional growth.

·?????? Action-Oriented Approach: Whilst reflection is central to the process, Reflection Circles also emphasize goal setting and taking action based on insights gained. Participants are encouraged to translate their reflections into tangible changes in behaviour, mindset, or leadership approach. They often set personal or professional goals during Reflection Circle sessions. Having the opportunity to come back and share progress or lessons learned offers some light touch mutual accountability which provides motivation and encourages progress along the way.

Overall then, carefully facilitated, regular Reflection Circles for leaders provide a really effective supportive and structured environment for learning from experience, personal and professional development, promoting self-awareness, resilience, and effectiveness in leadership roles.