Use these simple tips to build the habit of reflecting and reviewing to improve.

Reflect, Review and Improve. As the year progresses, it’s the perfect time to reflect on the past 12 months and consider what you’ve learnt. Taking time to review your experiences, actions, feelings and responses allows you to consider situations that you may not have given much thought to. This helps you to learn and grow as a leader, and as a person.

The great benefit of reflection is that by understanding why you do something in a particular way and recognising how you feel about it, you can spot where your strengths and development areas lie. This gives you the chance to build on your strengths and develop strategies to overcome your weaknesses.

Here’s a great 3 step approach to doing just that:

1 WHAT: description

Start by asking yourself what were the highlights of the year? What’s worked really well for you this year?

Think broadly to consider your experience in working with others, the results you have achieved and how you responded to situations throughout the year.

Now look at the counter side: what didn’t work so well? What were the challenges?

2 SO WHAT: analysis

Take a look at your responses above and identify your 3-5 biggest learnings from these experiences. What are your biggest learnings from 2017?

3 NOW WHAT: action

Insight without action is worthless, so the most important question is how will you apply your learnings from above? What will you do differently in 2018?

This practice to pause, step back and look, listen and reflect helps you to think critically about your experiences. Through this process you will identify things you would not otherwise notice and gain insights you can learn from.