The 8-Fold Process
At LAMDA Solutions, we encourage an 8-fold process for self-reflection and self-coaching. This takes the following structure;
- Grounding: this is where we establish an understanding of our situation and what is happening now to both us and those around us.
- Reflecting: this is where we reflect on our part within this reality we live in. If there is a situation or problem which is occurring, what part have we had in the development of it. We believe we can only move forwards by having an understanding of the path to here.
- Diagnosing: this is where we think around the situation or problems which are occurring right now, looking to understand what barriers or challenges may be in place, as well as our part within it. This moves us from the past into the present.
- Personalising: Here is where we take our reflections and our diagnosing, and we look to personalise it; we look at what part do we as the individual play within this situation or problem, establishing our region of control.
- Goal Setting: Here we establish our realms of control, what we can do or change which would make a difference. This is where we move from the present into the future.
- Determining the Why: This stage is important, this gives ourselves a reason for these changes and explains to ourselves the rationale behind them, only when we understand the reasons why we are making the change can we make moves to implement them with purpose.
- Action Planning: Here we strategize, we provide actions and steps to implement the changes we have established we should make. Here we provide ourselves with something tangible and measurable which we can do; we take control.
- Timings: This is where we provide ourselves with timespans and frequencies of check-ins and further reflections. This stage is key as without realistic timings, the plan is just wishful thinking. This makes us accountable for our own actions.
This structured self-coaching approach offers a comprehensive framework for leaders to engage in deep self-reflection, promoting personal and professional development.
Here are the benefits of this structured format:
- Holistic Self-Assessment: The structured nature of the framework guides leaders through various dimensions of leadership, organisational dynamics, personal biases, and team engagement. This holistic approach enables a more comprehensive self-assessment, covering multiple facets critical to effective leadership.
- Targeted and Focused Reflection: Each section of questions addresses specific areas of leadership, allowing leaders to focus on one aspect at a time. This targeted reflection encourages a more in-depth analysis, reducing overwhelm and fostering deeper insight into various elements of leadership and organisational effectiveness.
- Coaching and Mentoring Style: By encouraging a coaching and mentoring approach within the questions, leaders can adopt a more empathetic, people-focused leadership style. The self-reflective questions prompt leaders to consider their impact on individuals, encouraging the cultivation of a growth and learning culture within the organisation.
- Encouraging Positive Mindset and Cognitive Restructuring: The incorporation of cognitive-behavioural coaching within the framework aids leaders in identifying and challenging negative biases. It promotes a shift towards a more positive mindset, fostering resilience, problem-solving, and a solutions-oriented approach.
- Self-Development and Continuous Learning: The self-coaching structure stimulates ongoing self-development. Through regular self-reflection and goal setting, leaders can constantly refine their leadership strategies, improving their impact on the organisation and team.
Example Self-Reflection Sequence
Here is a sequence of self-reflective questions for leaders at all levels. Within these questions, we have integrated a focus on challenging unhelpful thoughts and fostering a more positive mindset. This is crucial for personal and professional development.
These questions follow a coaching approach and are structured to guide you through self-reflection and improvement in your practice:
Grounding Questions
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The sequence of “Grounding Questions” aims to establish a foundational understanding of your relationship with their team or organisation. It sets the stage for a comprehensive and introspective exploration of your self-awareness, impact, and dynamics within your team. Each question in this segment focuses on distinct aspects that collectively contribute to self-awareness, empathy, and youship environment.
This initial set of questions delves into your understanding of what motivates the individuals within your team or organisation. By probing the alignment between individual motivations and the overall goals and values of the organisation, you will gain insight into the driving forces and the coherence between individual aspirations and organisational objectives.
The subsequent questions focus on your impact on individuals within your team or organisation. It aims to evaluate whether you are fostering an environment characterised by trust, support, and open communication. This helps you comprehend your influence on team dynamics and the level of comfort and openness established within the group.
Here, the questions aim to assess your efficacy in engaging with your team on a personal level. Active listening and empathetic engagement with team members’ challenges, needs, and aspirations are pivotal in fostering a supportive and encouraging environment, contributing to a positive team culture.
This set of questions scrutinises the balance between control and empowerment within your team. It evaluates the autonomy provided to team members while maintaining a clear direction and focus. This balance is critical to ensuring individual growth and overall productivity within your team.
The final set of questions within this segment address your perception of negative biases and self-criticism. It encourages you to recognise and evaluate any negative beliefs or assumptions you might hold about your capabilities, that of your team, or the organisation as a whole. Understanding the impact of these biases on decision-making and interactions is crucial for fostering a more constructive and positive leadership approach.
This sequence of self-reflective questions within the “Grounding” section aims to instigate a deep, introspective exploration of your influence, understanding, and approach within your team or organisation. By posing inquiries that touch on motivation, impact, engagement, control, biases, and self-criticism, the sequence prompts you to establish a strong foundational awareness.
The power of this part of the reflection process lies in its ability to cultivate self-awareness, empathy, and a better understanding of your impact on your team. This reflective exercise aids in identifying areas for improvement, fostering more effective leadership strategies, and cultivating a positive team culture. By focusing on self-awareness and empathy, you can build stronger relationships, enhance team dynamics, and drive the organisation towards shared goals and success.
Reflection Questions
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The segment of “Reflection Questions” is designed to further deepen your understanding and impact on the organisational or team dynamics, focusing on areas such as alignment, motivation, growth opportunities, feedback, challenging assumptions, and recognising negative bias.
The initial set of questions focuses on identifying areas of disorder or misalignment within the organisation or team. By questioning the impacts of such disorder on productivity and efficiency, you gain insight into the specific areas requiring attention and adjustment for smoother operational flow.
The next set of questions emphasises your role in managing motivation and determination within your team or organisation. By evaluating the impact of your leadership approach on potential bottlenecks and areas of low productivity, you can assess and address factors hindering overall motivation and productivity.
The next questions focus on the learning and growth opportunities you have provided for team members. Understanding each team member’s career aspirations and personal development goals enables you to tailor growth opportunities, fostering an environment conducive to individual and collective development.
Then we concentrate on your consistency in providing constructive feedback and recognition to encourage continuous learning and motivate your team. Recognising the efficacy of specific feedback and recognition methods for each team member aids in tailoring approaches to better suit individual preferences and growth.
The second to last set of questions encourages you to identify common negative assumptions made about challenges or situations within the organisation. By evaluating how these assumptions might limit potential solutions or creativity, you can address self-imposed barriers to innovative problem-solving.
The final set of questions within this segment explores your understanding of how negative biases impact your team’s motivation, problem-solving, and workplace environment. Understanding these impacts is crucial in mitigating negative biases and fostering a more positive and productive environment.
The sequence of self-reflective questions within the “Reflection” section delves into the nuances of your influence on alignment, motivation, growth opportunities, feedback, assumptions, and negative bias. By probing into these areas, the questions drive you to assess your impact and refine your strategies for fostering a more supportive and productive team environment.
The power of this part of the reflection process lies in its ability to guide you towards a more informed and nuanced understanding of your impact on your team’s dynamics and overall productivity. By evaluating alignment, motivation, growth opportunities, feedback practices, assumptions, and negative biases, you can identify areas for improvement, foster more effective leadership strategies, and cultivate a positive and solution-oriented team culture. This reflective exercise aims to promote a constructive and growth-oriented environment that enhances individual and collective productivity and success within the organisation.
Diagnosing Questions
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The section “Diagnosing Questions” aims to probe into critical aspects of organisational structure, team dynamics, emotional climate, and cognitive patterns. These inquiries serve to identify potential areas of concern, cognitive biases, and barriers that might impede growth and productivity.
The first questions are designed to evaluate the balance between rigidity and chaos within the organisation or team. The impact of this balance on productivity and innovation is assessed to understand how the organisation’s structure influences its adaptability and the generation of innovative ideas.
The second set of questions focuses on the alignment of different organisational components. By identifying areas that may be less productive or acting as bottlenecks to collaboration and efficiency, you gain insights into potential areas that require improvement.
The next questions aim to gauge the emotional climate within your team or organisation. Understanding whether individuals feel comfortable expressing their opinions, concerns, and aspirations openly helps in assessing the overall emotional well-being and openness within your team.
The next segment of questions aims to assess the strength of the organisation’s culture regarding continuous learning and growth. Identifying any barriers hindering this culture helps in understanding factors that may inhibit the development of a growth-oriented environment.
The second to last set of questions encourages you to reflect on personal cognitive distortions, such as catastrophising or black-and-white thinking, and their impacts on decision-making and leadership efficacy. Understanding these distortions is vital for promoting clearer and more effective decision-making.
The last set of questions focuses on identifying negative biases or cognitive distortions within your team. By recognising how these may influence team dynamics and problem-solving, you can address potential barriers and promote a more open and innovative team environment.
The sequence of self-reflective questions within the “Diagnosing” section aims to scrutinise critical elements within the organisation or team. By addressing balance, alignment, emotional climate, growth culture, cognitive distortions, and team mindsets, the questions prompt you to evaluate potential hurdles to productivity and growth.
The power of this part of the reflection process lies in its ability to identify key areas that may be hindering the organisation’s or team’s progress. By probing into these areas, you can gain deeper insights into the organisational or team dynamics, identify potential barriers, and initiate strategies to address these issues. This reflective exercise aims to foster a more adaptive, open, and innovative organisational or team environment, promoting growth, productivity, and a positive emotional climate.
Personalising Questions
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The section of “Personalising Questions” aims to delve into your approach to leveraging psychological factors, mentoring, and individual growth, as well as promoting a positive mindset within your team.
The first couple of questions are designed to assess your understanding of psychological factors influencing motivation and determination within your team. By exploring how this understanding can be harnessed for better leadership, you can tailor your approach to resonate more effectively with your team’s psychological dynamics.
The next couple of questions focuses on how you can catalyse different ‘energy states’ within your team to optimise their potential and growth. Understanding the methods to encourage diverse states of motivation and productivity allows you to guide your team more effectively toward desired outcomes.
Then the next questions encourage you to consider ways to engage more in mentoring individuals within your team. Assessing how you can contribute to the professional and personal growth of team members aids in fostering a supportive and growth-oriented team environment.
The next couple of questions in this segment prompts you to consider how to tailor development plans for team members based on their unique strengths, weaknesses, and aspirations. By individualising development plans, you can better support the growth and progress of team members.
The second to last couple of questions aims to guide you in consciously reframing negative thoughts into more realistic or positive alternatives, especially in challenging situations. This approach supports the cultivation of a more positive and solution-oriented mindset.
The last couple of questions focuses on integrating positive self-talk and encouraging your team members to adopt a more optimistic and empowering mindset. Fostering a culture of positive communication and mindset can significantly impact your team’s resilience and motivation.
The sequence of self-reflective questions within the “Personalising” section aims to personalise your approach to understanding and leveraging psychological dynamics, mentoring, individual growth, and fostering a positive mindset within your team.
The power of this part of the reflection process lies in its ability to personalise leadership approaches and foster a supportive and growth-oriented team environment. By tailoring leadership to resonate with psychological factors, mentoring individuals, customising development plans, reframing negative thoughts, and promoting positive self-talk, you can empower your team to thrive in a more optimistic, solution-driven, and growth-focused setting. This reflective exercise aims to cultivate a more resilient and positively inclined team, fostering an environment conducive to individual and collective success.
Goal Setting Questions
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The “Goal Setting Questions” segment is intended to guide you in setting goals and strategies focused on achieving a balanced, adaptive, and growth-oriented team environment.
The first couple of questions aim to assist you in devising specific steps to balance control and empowerment within your team, fostering a structured yet adaptable approach. By finding this balance, you can ensure a supportive yet directed environment that allows for flexibility and growth.
The next couple of questions focuses on using challenge and support to guide your team toward a state of ‘flow,’ encouraging purposeful movement and adaptability. This approach aims to facilitate an environment where individuals can perform optimally, experiencing a sense of deep engagement and focus.
The next couple of questions prompt you to explore steps to further encourage a culture of continuous learning and curiosity within your team or organization. By fostering a learning culture, you promote an environment where growth and innovation are embraced.
Then there are a couple of questions focusing on integrating your continuous learning goals into your team’s culture, setting an example of ongoing personal development. Leading by example, you can inspire team members to embrace learning and self-improvement.
The second to last set of questions encourages you to identify positive affirmations or mantras that counteract negative biases, fostering a more optimistic mindset within your team. Positivity and optimism can greatly influence your team’s resilience and motivation.
The last couple of questions revolve around adjusting the language used within your team to focus on solutions, growth, and learning rather than dwelling on problems or limitations. Shifting your team’s language can significantly impact their mindset and problem-solving approach.
The sequence of self-reflective questions within the “Goal Setting” section aims to guide you in setting goals that facilitate a balanced, adaptive, and growth-oriented team environment.
The power of this part of the reflection process lies in its ability to guide you in setting strategic goals that foster a culture of adaptability, growth, and positivity within your team. By balancing control and empowerment, aligning leadership with flow, cultivating a learning culture, setting personal growth objectives, using positive affirmations, and incorporating positive language, you can steer your team towards a more optimistic, solution-driven, and growth-focused environment. This reflective exercise aims to create a resilient, adaptable, and purpose-driven team that consistently strives for growth and success.
Determining the Why Questions
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The “Questions to Determine the Why” section aims to guide you in exploring the root causes and barriers within the organisation, facilitating a deeper understanding of negative biases and their influence on your team’s culture.
The first couple of questions are focused on exploring the underlying reasons for disorder or inefficiency within the organisation. They encourage you to reflect on potential connections between these issues and their leadership style, communication methods, or external factors influencing your team or organisation.
Within the next couple of questions, the emphasis is on identifying impediments preventing the organisation from achieving a state of collaborative equilibrium. The goal here is for you to identify these obstacles and strategize on overcoming them to promote better collaboration and productivity.
The next couple of questions aims to identify obstacles that hinder a culture of continuous learning and growth within the organisation. It encourages you to assesses potential barriers, such as time constraints, lack of resources, or resistance to change, and explore methods to address and overcome these obstacles.
Then there are some questions focused on how you can improve your self-awareness to adapt your leadership style to different individuals, fostering a culture of inclusivity and growth. By understanding individual needs and adjusting leadership approaches, you can create a more inclusive environment.
The second to last couple of questions encourages you to reflect on the potential roots of your negative biases or cognitive distortions, exploring whether these are rooted in past experiences, fears, or uncertainties. Understanding these origins is essential for adjusting and overcoming these biases.
The last couple of questions prompts you to consider how your negative biases influence organisational culture and the mindset of your team members. The goal is for you to understand these influences and find ways to adjust them for a more positive team culture.
The sequence of self-reflective questions within the “Questions to Determine the Why” section aims to guide you in identifying any root causes and barriers, as well as understanding the origins of negative biases and their impact on your team’s culture.
The power of this part of the reflection process lies in its ability to guide you in recognising and addressing the root causes of organisational inefficiencies, barriers to growth, and negative biases. By identifying these issues and their origins, you can strategize and implement solutions that create a more inclusive, growth-oriented, and positive team environment. This reflective exercise aims to foster a more resilient and adaptable team culture by addressing underlying issues and fostering an environment conducive to individual and collective success.
Plan of Action Questions
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The “Plan of Action Questions” segment guides you in developing practical action plans to address key areas of concern and foster positive change within your team or organisation.
The first couple of questions prompts you to devise actionable steps aimed at reducing disorder and improving alignment, productivity, and motivation within your team or organisation. It encourages the formulation of strategies to address inefficiencies and enhance overall performance.
The second couple of questions focuses on modifying leadership techniques to better leverage psychological dynamics and motivation within your team. It encourages you to adapt your approach, ensuring it resonates more effectively with your team’s psychological and motivational factors.
In the next couple of questions, the focus is on developing initiatives that promote self-directed learning and skill development within your team. By implementing such initiatives, you can cultivate an environment that encourages continuous learning and professional development.
The next couple of questions aims to explore ways in which you can actively demonstrate a commitment to continuous learning and personal growth. Through leading by example, you can inspire and motivate your team to embrace similar principles of self-improvement.
The second to last set of questions encourages the integration of mindfulness practices to identify and reframe negative biases into more positive or neutral thoughts. It aims to instil a more mindful and solution-oriented mindset within your team.
The last couple of questions prompts you to consider the steps they can take to provide leadership and resilience training, both to yourself and your team. Such training is crucial in recognising and effectively managing negative biases within your team.
The sequence of self-reflective questions within the “Plan of Action” section aims to guide leaders in the practical implementation of strategies that address inefficiencies, adapt leadership techniques, promote learning initiatives, foster a culture of continuous improvement, and manage negative biases.
The power of this part of the reflection process lies in its ability to transition insights gained from previous reflective segments into actionable plans. By implementing practical solutions, adapting leadership techniques, promoting learning initiatives, leading by example, incorporating mindfulness practices, and providing training, you can actively work towards fostering a more positive, growth-oriented, and resilient team culture. This reflective exercise aims to initiate tangible actions that create a more productive and adaptive team, fostering a culture of continuous learning and improvement.
Timing Questions
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The “Timing Questions” segment aims to guide you in considering the timelines and frequency of reassessment necessary to drive and sustain positive change within the organisation or team.
The first couple of questions prompts you to consider when to implement changes and what a realistic timeline would be to observe improvements in alignment and productivity. Establishing clear timelines ensures a structured approach towards change and growth.
The next couple of questions focuses on scheduling learning sessions or skill development milestones within your team and identifying realistic timelines for observing improvements in skill acquisition and growth. These milestones help in tracking progress and ensuring continuous improvement.
The next couple of questions centres on how frequently you should reassess the organisation’s state and adjust your leadership strategies. Regular reassessment ensures that strategies remain adaptive and aligned with the organisation’s needs.
Then there are a couple of questions revolving around the frequency of reassessing the organisation’s growth culture and adjusting your leadership strategies to support continuous learning and development. Regular assessments ensure that the culture remains conducive to growth.
The second to last section of questions focuses on how often you should engage in reflection and thought realignment to consistently foster a positive mindset within your team. Regular reflection helps in maintaining a positive and solution-oriented environment.
The last couple of questions prompts you to identify key indicators to assess the impact of adopting a more positive bias and to celebrate any improvements in team dynamics and productivity. Identifying and celebrating positive changes reinforces their importance.
The sequence of self-reflective questions within the “Timing” section aims to guide you in setting appropriate timelines for change implementation, assessing growth culture, and consistently reinforcing a positive mindset within your team.The power of this part of the reflection process lies in its ability to help you set clear timelines, milestones, and reflection frequencies to drive and sustain positive change within the organisation. By establishing realistic timelines, reassessment frequencies, and measurable indicators of success, you ensure a structured approach towards improvement and fosters a culture of continuous learning and growth. This reflective exercise aims to create a dynamic and adaptive environment conducive to sustained positive change and team development.
These self-reflective questions provide a structured framework for leaders at all levels and in various sectors to introspect, improve their leadership approach, and enhance organisational effectiveness.
The Reflective Practice
Undertaking the reflective process outlined within these segments of questions encapsulates a cognitive psychological journey crucial for leadership development and organisational enhancement. The reflective process is rooted in various psychological principles, nurturing a cognitive shift in your mindset and behaviour.
The initial grounding questions set the foundation by exploring motivation, personal impact, empathetic engagement, control, and identifying negative biases. This introspection initiates a cognitive dissonance, prodding you to reassess your attitudes and behaviours.
Subsequently, the reflection process delves into various organisational aspects, analysing alignment, growth opportunities, and negative biases’ origins. This stage fosters cognitive restructuring, re-evaluating established beliefs and assumptions, leading to a paradigm shift in understanding leadership dynamics.
The diagnostic segment identifies barriers and offers a cognitive restructuring opportunity. By recognising hindrances to growth and identifying the roots of negative biases, the process promotes a cognitive reappraisal, challenging entrenched perspectives and biases.
The personalisation phase aims at customising approaches, leveraging psychological dynamics, mentoring, and growth planning. This step fosters cognitive restructuring by emphasising self-reflection and self-regulation, encouraging you to reframe and internalise new mental models.
Moving to goal setting, the cognitive process shifts to action-oriented planning. Here, cognitive activation occurs by setting actionable plans, fostering positive self-talk, and encouraging learning initiatives. It triggers motivation and intention to change behaviour.
The subsequent section, determining the ‘why’, continues the cognitive journey by addressing the underlying causes, leading to cognitive restructuring by challenging beliefs and promoting a reassessment of leadership strategies.
The plan of action section seeks to implement practical solutions, adapt leadership, and promote resilience training, constituting a cognitive restructuring by fostering behaviour change and adaptive thinking patterns.
Finally, the timing questions aim to establish schedules and reassessment frequencies. This phase fosters cognitive restructuring by developing a sense of anticipation, planning, and ongoing self-monitoring.Throughout this reflective process, the cognitive psychological journey involves a series of cognitive shifts, from challenging pre-existing beliefs and biases to fostering adaptive thinking and behavioural change. This process encourages you to develop a growth mindset, promoting a culture of continuous learning, resilience, and positive organisational change. It creates a dynamic cognitive framework, inducing cognitive restructuring, and stimulating behavioural transformation essential for effective leadership and organisational development.
The Benefits of this Regular Self-Reflection for Leaders
Engaging in regular self-reflection using this structured set of questions provides numerous benefits for leaders:
- Enhanced Self-Awareness: Regular reflection fosters a heightened self-awareness of leadership practices, personal biases, and their impact on your team and organisation. This awareness allows for targeted improvements and adjustments in leadership approaches.
- Improved Decision-Making and Problem-Solving: By constantly reassessing one’s leadership approach, leaders gain clarity and refine their decision-making processes. Reflecting on cognitive biases helps in avoiding faulty assumptions and enhances problem-solving skills.
- Fostering a Positive Organisational Culture: Regular self-reflection on empathy, coaching, and growth-focused questions allows leaders to actively contribute to a positive organisational culture. By embodying these qualities, they encourage a similar mindset and behaviour within your team.
- Continuous Improvement and Adaptation: Consistent self-reflection allows leaders to recognise areas for improvement and take action to adapt and grow. It promotes a culture of continuous improvement and fosters adaptability in leadership strategies.
- Promoting a Learning Organisation: Engaging in regular reflection encourages a learning culture within the organisation. Leaders who actively reflect and refine their practices create an environment where continuous learning, personal development, and growth are highly valued and practiced by the entire team.
Overall, the structured self-coaching approach and regular self-reflection serve as powerful tools for leaders to refine their leadership style, cultivate positive organisational cultures, and drive continuous improvement and growth within their teams and organisations.
Christopher Waters
Founder of LAMDA Solutions
For information about how LAMDA Solutions can help you on this journey, please get in contact with us, or explore more about the LAMDA Way.