Using an End-of-the-Year Reflection Process to Advance Equity
The end of the year is not the only time to reflect, but it’s certainly a good excuse, especially if we’ve found ways to cancel and avoid it throughout the rest of the year.
Reflecting on the past year can allow us to:
Identify successes and challenges: Pinpointing our accomplishments and areas for improvement helps us celebrate our wins and learn from our mistakes.
Gain a deeper understanding of our impact: Assessing the impact of our DEIAB initiatives provides valuable data to inform future strategies.
Identify patterns and trends: Recognizing recurring themes can help us uncover systemic issues and develop targeted solutions.
Build momentum for the future: By acknowledging our progress, we can build on our successes and approach the new year with renewed energy and motivation.
I recommend a reflection practice that includes both personal and professional exercises (as well as group reflection for say an ERG or a DEIAB Committee or Working Group). By taking the time to look back on the year personally and professionally, we can gain valuable insights that will inform our goals and strategies for the year ahead.
As you structure your reflection practice, I encourage you to prioritize two things: making it a pleasurable experience and setting realistic goals.
Making Reflection a Pleasurable Experience
Reflecting on the past year doesn't have to be a daunting task. By making the process enjoyable, we can increase our motivation and gain deeper insights. Here are some tips to make reflection a positive experience:
Create a comfortable and inspiring space: Find a quiet, peaceful place where you can focus.
Use a variety of reflection techniques: Experiment with different methods, such as journaling, mind mapping, guided meditation, or a collage (yes art can be invaluable)
Share your reflections with others: Discuss your insights with colleagues or friends. Through this process of sharing reflections aloud, we can both gain greater clarity, learn from the person who is sharing with us, and even generate ideas that feel better aligned. This is also a great tool because it acts as an accountability tool. Once we’ve scheduled this reflection time, we may have some more motivation to follow through.
Celebrate your accomplishments: Brainstorm a list of ways that you want to celebrate future achievements, and if you haven’t been celebrating this year, think about what would feel nice to close out the year and celebrate the work you’ve done.
Learn from your mistakes: This is an important part of inclusion and equity work. By framing our mistakes as places for growth now, we can apply them to future lessons. Often, after events, I create a list of what went well and what I would change next time. Or if there was a conversation that didn’t go well, I like to sit down and reflect on how it unfolded and what learning can be harvested from that interaction to help guide me on future ones.
Setting Realistic Goals for the Year Ahead
Once you’ve reflected on the past year, you can use your insights to set realistic and achievable goals for the future. Here are a few tips for doing that:
Be specific and measurable: Clearly define what you want to achieve and how you will measure your progress. It can be really helpful to set checkpoints or create time-bound initiatives so that there’s some internal accountability for following up.
Prioritize: Focus on key areas where you can make the most significant impact.
Break down large goals into smaller steps: This can help you stay motivated and track your progress. Creating a list of all the steps to achieve each goal can help you visualize where the project may get sidetracked or blocked by schedules. When we write down all the steps that will have to happen, we can also sometimes delegate or create a more realistic timeline that leaves room for holidays, big important projects that will take time and allow you or the group to see that just one big goal might take dozens of small actions.
Be flexible and adaptable: Be prepared to adjust your goals as needed. Build in a few check-in meetings that are about revisiting the goal and the steps to both add in steps that are learned along the way (it’s kind of like adding to your to-do list things you’ve already done - helpful to have a done list) and we can adapt the future based on the learning that happens in each interval. Consider adding a 15-30 minute meeting once every 10-12 weeks to look into what has been happening or not happening and identify why and what may need to happen next based on the new insights learned over those 10-12 weeks.
By taking the time to reflect on the past year and set realistic goals for the future, we are taking steps that will support the equity work we will do in the year to come. Both incremental changes and transformational ones are needed.
Please reach out if you need help making the time or space for reflection or could use outside support to help facilitate this in the new year. I love assisting groups in creating ways to build this into the cycles of their organization and/or building out retreats or in-service opportunities to do this as a group. I enjoy supporting groups and organizations through a robust and customized process that supports the different adult learning styles and incorporates ways to help individuals' nervous systems, including how we make room for introverts and extroverts to engage and share. Reach out to learn more!
