Reflection’s Key Role in Developing Through Tough Experiences

How do we endure overly stressful periods and come out of them significantly stronger, in a productive way? This is a challenge I have recently been pondering – the people that help me be productive have not been able to, loading up the work I became responsible for. It was a bit enlightening as what I found were there were a bunch of items from prior to the busy period that were still left undone, some that were important.

Here are my self reflections:

• Accountability. I was reminded how imperative it is to receive completion confirmation on important tasks. First and foremost, it is my responsibility to ensure these items are done. Secondly, it is my responsibility to ensure people can get what they need to accomplish the task. And lastly, it is my responsibility to consider the amount of energy and time it takes to follow up with a person, as maybe the task was given to the incorrect person. Ultimately I am responsible to ensure our success, and I did not ensure paths were cleared timely.
• Communication. I was alarmed by the level of misunderstandings people had and the amount of negative information that filled in the blanks of communication. I found the very elements that could damage the company thrown around like beach balls. The very things that upset me to my core were living all around me. I saw politics developing and miscommunications try to take a foothold into the way we operate.
• Structure. A scary thing happened in a couple of different ways –  because of their busyness, people looked for steps in the process to skip and selected the critical planning part or, even worse, they jumped into important items without understanding what success looked like. These are surefire ways to create unnecessary work and frustration for oneself.

The way my reflection ended was the solidifying reminder that the limits of our success are set by the limits in our ability to apply the basics, enduring tools of our company – our core values, purpose, differentiators, goals, and processes. I look forward to applying these basics more visibly going forward.