The Value of Reflection

Why reflection is an important skill in leadership

                Based on our text, School Leader Internship, 2^nd Edition, reflection helps leaders to develop expertise.  Going beyond just our content-specific knowledge, we must learn to apply our knowledge in whatever circumstances we encounter.  We act, then we reflect on our actions and hopefully, the reflection teaches us something.  “Learning from one’s prior actions (and mistakes) is basic to the development of expertise” (Martin, 2005).  I believe that as leaders, we must not be afraid to act, but we must also continuously reflect on our actions.  I do not mean that we are to second guess our every decision, but rather that we must spend the time to evaluate our actions and determine the effectiveness (or ineffectiveness) of our decisions.   As Allison and Allison (1993) discovered, experience alone will not help us to develop the expertise to become effective leaders.  I think this is very important to remember.  Only through careful reflection will we truly learn from our experiences and continue to grow as leaders.  Throughout this course, I have done more professional reflection than ever before and I believe it has played a huge role in my growth as a leader.

How I plan to use reflective practice to improve my leadership skills

                As we have learned in this program, reflection truly is an essential method of developing our expertise as school leaders.  I honestly believe that making mistakes is part of the learning experience, but only when we admit that we have, examine the hows and whys, and plan a different strategy for the next time, will we avoid making the same mistakes again.  In my own career, I plan to make reflection a lifelong habit.  Over the course of the program, I have begun to regularly set aside time for reflection.  At least two to three times a week, I purposely plan on staying late with the express intention of spending time reflecting on the actions and decisions of the day.  As I have done this over the past school year, I have frequently found ways to tweak things the next morning.  Many times, the only change is to find a better way to explain what I expect or what I meant.  Often, I have gone to speak with a student or staff member to ensure that they understood why I made the decision I made or took the action I chose to take.  I think that the regular practice of reflection has made me a stronger communicator.  I think that reflection has also made me a better listener.  In looking back, I often wish that I had asked more questions of my co-workers or gotten more feedback or input before making a decision.   Most of all, I try to remember that experience alone will not make me a better administrator and that reflection will need to be a part of that experience if I hope to develop the needed expertise to successfully lead a school district.