For a business to continue growing it is important to learn and understand communication in relations, groups, team and networks. So, how does Reflective Practice relate to all of this?

Well, Reflective Practice is a way of studying your own experience to help improve the way one works. This is very useful for those who want to carry on learning throughout their lives. It is a way to help increase confidence and become more proactive. Engaging in RP helps improve the attribute of care you give and close the gap between theory and practice.

Just how important is to understand RP? Well, Reflective Practice is also associated with learning dialogues that bring exchange of statements of viewpoints, trusting peers, political and emotional data that arise form direct experience with one another. It is “thinking about thinking”. But what exactly does this mean? Thinking about thinking enables us to reflect our solutions database together. Being able to reflect together as a team in a business world allows for solutions to issues to a new agreed practices, social norms, behaviors and acceptances.

A business always runs at a speed of light, where decisions need immediate attention, so how can slowing down the process help? By making Reflective Practice part of the business culture and management process the business becomes more responsive. It makes it possible for people to constantly challenge without fear of retaliation and permits questioning of assumption. Many managers need to begin to develop the mindset that is not “them vs me,” but more of “us vs out there.”

Now that you have a better understanding about Reflective Practice, what is the next step? Learning the 5 skills of Reflective Practice as shown in Chart 1 and how you can begin incorporating them in your business.

Gibbs G (1988) Learning by Doing: A guide to teaching and learning methods