The Benefits of Self-Reflection At Work for Junior Staff
Why Self-Reflection Is Crucial To Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
By Abigail Harrison, Intern at Kai Communications
CPD is a term often used in the context of professional growth and is essential for all of us to help maintain and further enhance skills, competencies, and knowledge. Many employers require CPD to ensure that employees remain effective in their roles but one little talked about area of CPD is self-reflection which helps employees to take a proactive approach to their own development. Whilst the majority of workers believe they are self-aware, realistically only 10-15% are actually thought to be, but by working towards greater self-understanding, both productivity and job satisfaction can be increased by up to 12%.
Self-reflection, as an element of CPD, can promote personal and professional growth by improving one’s ability to make thoughtful and informed decisions, furthering EQ to help with understanding emotions, and active learning from mistakes as a preventative measure.
Self-reflection applied in the world of PR and Marketing could be the ace that you need to stand out in your workplace. You can reflect on past campaigns, looking for what worked well and what didn’t, build trust with your audience, put yourself in their shoes, and stay competitive in an ever-changing field. You can get noticed by ensuring through self-reflection that you design the best campaign possible to reach your target audience.
Setting goals based on assessment of areas for improvement can potentially also lead to career development as a result of increased productivity, adaptability, and flexibility. Embracing a mindset of continuous learning can also be a catalyst for motivation and engagement at work, impacting overall satisfaction.
Implementing regular reflective practices in the workplace can contribute to more fulfilling and successful careers, in turn, creating happier employees. The most important factor is to carve out time to self-reflect. Here are the top 12 ways to ensure you are reaping the benefits of self-reflection for CPD:
Goal and values: Consider reasonable and measurable workplace goals and assess your progress towards their achievement. Ask yourself if your goals align with your personal and company values and rejig them if they don’t quite fit.
Achievements: Take some time to quietly praise yourself for recent accomplishments and acknowledge your hard work and value-added. Consider what you learnt from the process and how you can further build on your success.
Upskilling: Are there any new skills or knowledge areas that you want to explore or need to expand upon? How can you go about this and do you require support from your managers?
Adaptability: Change isn’t always easy to accept, so assess how successfully you have adapted to changes at work and think about areas in which you can improve.
Personal Growth: Contemplate the things you have learnt about yourself recently and focus on continual growth by pondering how you can develop further.
Relationships: Evaluate the quality of your work relationships. Focus on how to resolve any existing conflicts, how to create more relationships through networking, and how to improve communication with colleagues.
Emotions: Mull over how you’ve been feeling lately, try to identify any patterns or triggers for particular emotions, and question how successfully you are managing your emotions.
Well-being: Always factor in your physical and mental health and prioritise ensuring you are taking all of your breaks, exercising, eating, and sleeping well.
Mindset: Give thought to your attitudes and perspectives. Is it possible to shift your thinking towards a more positive and growth-oriented mindset?
Gratitude: Think of and appreciate the things you enjoy about your job. Practising gratitude can have a positive impact on mindset.
Time Management: Have you been spending your time wisely? It’s worth considering if there are more efficient ways to complete your tasks. Are you prioritising well or could you make improvements in this area?
Feedback: If you have received feedback from colleagues or superiors, take it on board and implement a change, especially if there are recurring themes.
When self-reflection becomes a habit you begin to see a return on your investment. It is an ongoing process, and you must approach it with an open and honest mindset to accelerate your self-awareness and increase your satisfaction in both your home and work life.
