Gibbs' Reflective Cycle Explained
Summary
TLDRToday's lesson introduces the Gibbs Reflective Cycle, a six-step process for personal and professional growth. The cycle starts with describing an experience, followed by exploring feelings, evaluating the experience, analyzing, drawing conclusions, and creating an action plan. It's a tool for self-improvement and coaching, with benefits like ease of use and balanced judgment but also criticisms like being reactive and potentially superficial. An example of a presentation gone wrong illustrates how the cycle can be applied to learn and improve for future situations.
Takeaways
- π Gibbs Reflective Cycle is a six-step process designed to help individuals reflect on their experiences and learn from them.
- π The first step, 'Description', involves setting the scene and providing context without drawing conclusions.
- π 'Feelings' is the second step, where one should acknowledge their emotions during the experience without judgment.
- π 'Evaluation' is the third step, focusing on objectively assessing what went well and what could have been improved.
- π§ 'Analysis' is the fourth step, where one explores possible strategies or tools that could enhance future similar experiences.
- π 'Conclusion' is the fifth step, drawing insights from the analysis to identify skills or actions needed for improvement.
- π The final step, 'Action Plan', is about committing to a plan that will help handle similar situations more effectively in the future.
- π The model is circular, promoting continuous learning and improvement over time.
- π€ It's not only for self-reflection but also useful for coaching others to improve their skills.
- π« Critics argue that the model can be superficial and lacks critical thinking or perspective-taking.
- π₯ It can be challenging for some to openly discuss their feelings, which is a necessary part of the cycle.
Q & A
What is the Gibbs reflective cycle?
-The Gibbs reflective cycle is a six-step process designed to help individuals reflect on their experiences in the workplace, with the aim of learning from them and improving future performance.
Why is reflection important in personal and professional growth?
-Reflection is crucial for personal and professional growth because it allows individuals to analyze their experiences, identify areas of strength and weakness, and develop action plans for improvement, leading to better performance over time.
How does the circular nature of the Gibbs reflective cycle support learning?
-The circular nature of the Gibbs reflective cycle supports learning by encouraging continuous reflection and improvement. It implies that the process is ongoing, allowing individuals to apply insights from one experience to future situations.
What are the first three steps of the Gibbs reflective cycle?
-The first three steps of the Gibbs reflective cycle are Description, where you describe what happened; Feelings, where you describe your feelings during the experience; and Evaluation, where you objectively assess what went well and what didn't.
Can you provide an example of how to use the Gibbs reflective cycle in a workplace scenario?
-An example of using the Gibbs reflective cycle in a workplace scenario could involve reflecting on a presentation to senior leadership that did not go as planned. One would describe the event, express their feelings, evaluate the outcome, analyze possible improvements, draw conclusions, and create an action plan for future presentations.
What are the potential criticisms of the Gibbs reflective cycle?
-Some criticisms of the Gibbs reflective cycle include its reactive rather than proactive approach, the potential for superficial reflection without critical thinking, and the difficulty some people may have in openly discussing their feelings.
How can the Gibbs reflective cycle be used for coaching a subordinate or colleague?
-The Gibbs reflective cycle can be used for coaching by guiding a subordinate or colleague through the six steps, helping them to reflect on their experiences, identify areas for improvement, and develop an action plan for enhancing their skills in a particular area.
What is the purpose of the 'Analysis' step in the Gibbs reflective cycle?
-The 'Analysis' step in the Gibbs reflective cycle involves exploring the options that might have helped the situation and conducting research into academic models or tools that could be beneficial in similar future scenarios.
How does the 'Conclusion' step of the Gibbs reflective cycle help in personal development?
-The 'Conclusion' step of the Gibbs reflective cycle aids personal development by helping individuals to draw conclusions based on their analysis, identify skills or tools needed for improvement, and determine how to avoid negative outcomes in future similar situations.
What is the significance of creating an action plan in the final step of the Gibbs reflective cycle?
-Creating an action plan in the final step of the Gibbs reflective cycle is significant because it translates reflections and conclusions into actionable steps, ensuring that real change and improvement occur in response to the lessons learned from past experiences.
Outlines
π Introduction to Gibbs Reflective Cycle
The video begins with an introduction to the Gibbs Reflective Cycle, a six-step process designed to help individuals reflect on their experiences in the workplace. The cycle is circular, starting with description and focusing on learning from experiences to improve performance. The first three steps involve analyzing what happened, while the last three steps concentrate on how to improve future experiences. The cycle is not only useful for self-evaluation but also for coaching others. The steps include describing the experience, expressing feelings, evaluating what went well and what didn't, analyzing the situation, drawing conclusions, and creating an action plan. The video emphasizes the importance of honesty and commitment to the action plan for real change to occur.
π Applying the Gibbs Reflective Cycle: A Presentation Example
In the second paragraph, the script provides a practical example of applying the Gibbs Reflective Cycle. The scenario involves an individual who gave a presentation to senior leadership that did not go as planned. The individual retrospectively analyzes the experience using the cycle. They describe the event, their feelings of nervousness and panic, and the evaluation of the presentation's outcome. They also analyze what could have been done differently, such as sharing the presentation in advance and conducting personal follow-ups with the leadership team. The conclusion drawn is that presentations can go wrong, but there are actionable steps to improve for next time, such as distributing the presentation beforehand and practicing with potential critics. This example illustrates how the Gibbs Reflective Cycle can be used to learn from an experience and prepare for future similar situations.
Mindmap
Keywords
π‘Gibbs Reflective Cycle
π‘Description
π‘Feelings
π‘Evaluation
π‘Analysis
π‘Conclusion
π‘Action Plan
π‘Experience
π‘Learning
π‘Coaching
π‘Presentation
Highlights
Introduction to Gibbs reflective cycle as a tool for personal growth and professional development.
Emphasis on the importance of learning from experiences for improvement in the workplace.
Description of the Gibbs reflective cycle as a six-step process for reflecting on experiences.
Explanation of the circular nature of the model, promoting ongoing learning from experiences.
The first three steps of the model focus on analyzing what happened during the experience.
The second three steps are geared towards improving future experiences.
The model's applicability in evaluating performance and coaching others.
Step-by-step breakdown of the six steps of the Gibbs reflective cycle.
The importance of being factual and avoiding conclusions in the description step.
Focus on acknowledging feelings without judgment in the feelings step.
Objective evaluation of the experience to identify strengths and weaknesses.
Analysis step for exploring options and researching potential improvements.
Conclusion step for drawing insights from the analysis to inform future actions.
Action plan creation for implementing conclusions and committing to change.
Discussion on the advantages of the Gibbs reflective cycle, including ease of use and balanced judgment.
Criticism of the model for being reactive, superficial, and potentially difficult for emotional openness.
A practical example of applying the Gibbs reflective cycle to a presentation scenario.
Summary of the Gibbs reflective cycle as a tool for learning and improvement through experience.
Transcripts
hello and welcome to today's lesson
where we're looking at Gibbs reflective
cycle your experiences have shaped who
you are but to grow as a person
experience alone isn't enough you need
to learn from those experiences to get
better at your job and this is where a
Gibbs reflective cycle comes in it's a
simple six step process to help you
reflect on your experiences in the
workplace you'll learn what went well as
well as what could have gone better and
put together an action plan to address
your weaknesses as you can see the model
is circular
starting with description and this
circular nature lends itself to learning
from experiences over time so you can
get better and better at something now
the first three steps of the model focus
on what happened during the experience
you are analyzing and the second three
steps focus on how you can improve your
experience for future similar situations
now you can obviously use the model to
evaluate your performance in the
workplace but it's also a great tool to
use if you're coaching a subordinate or
colleague to improve their skill in a
particular area so let's take a look at
the six steps in a little bit more
detail so the first step is description
and in this step you simply describe
what happened be as factual as you can
so don't draw any conclusions yet you
will do that later so all you're trying
to do is set the scene and provide some
context so that you get a better
understanding of the experience so some
questions that can help you here are ask
yourself what happened when and where
did it happen why were you there
what did you do how did people react
what happened at the end the second
stage is feelings so in this step you
describe feelings you felt during the
experience you shouldn't try to judge or
evaluate your feelings just simply state
what they were so again some questions
include things like how did you feel
before during and after the experience
what do you think others felt during the
experience how do you feel thinking
about the experience now and how do you
think others feel about the experience
now the third step or the third stage is
evaluation and in this step we
objectively evaluate the experience so
here we're trying to determine what went
well and what didn't go so well and it's
really essential to be honest as honest
as possible to get the most out of this
process so some questions again that can
help you what went well what didn't go
so well
was the situation resolved afterwards if
not why not what positive or negative
thing did you contribute and what
positive or negative thing did others
contribute next we move on to step four
analysis and in this step you describe
what you think might have helped the
situation so the aim is to explore the
options that might be available to you
if you encountered a similar situation
again now this step is an excellent
opportunity to conduct some research
looking at say academic models or tools
that might have helped you so for
example if you were doing a presentation
and it didn't go so well then a tool
such as Monroe's motivated sequence
might have helped you put together a
better presentation step 5 is conclusion
so now you've analyzed the different
options available to you it's time in
this step to focus and to draw some
conclusions so using the information
you've collected in your analysis ask
yourself what skills tools could help
you do better next time
can use these skills right now or is it
something you need to develop what will
you do differently next time if there
were negative outcomes last time how can
you avoid these happening again and what
else could you do to make this a more
positive experience for everybody
involved and finally the final step is
number six create an action plan and
here you're trying to plan based on
conclusions how you'll position yourself
so that you can better handle similar
situations next time and it's crucial
you commit and take action on your plan
so that real change occurs so if you're
coaching someone else through the
reflective cycle then this step is about
agreeing on a date to speak again and
review progress on the plan so let's
take a look at the advantages and
disadvantages of this reflective cycle
so there's several advantages including
the model is easy to understand and it's
pretty easy to use it allows you to
learn over time based on your
experiences through practice and over
time it gives you a more balanced and
accurate judgment there are some
criticisms of the model including it's a
reactive rather than proactive approach
to improving your skill set it can be a
superficial reflection as there is no
real critical thinking involved nor is
there look any sense of looking at the
situation from a different perspective
and it can be difficult for many people
to open up and discuss their feelings
during the feelings step so let's take a
look at a really simple example and in
this example imagine you gave a
presentation to your senior leadership
team and it hasn't gone so well so
retrospectively using the model your
analysis might look something like you
see here in this table so last Monday I
was giving a presentation to the board
the purpose of the presentation was to
provide an update on my department's
progress in the previous quarter I only
got to slide three before the whole
thing fell apart the finance director
asked me a question on the figures and I
got flustered he already didn't agree
with the direction of my presentation a
big debate ensued and I didn't even
complete my presentation so next we have
feelings how did I feel so in the lead
up to the present
I felt very nervous as it's not every
day I give a presentation to the
leadership team I felt panicked when
asked the numbers question I felt like
an idiot when my time was up and I
hadn't made it past the introduction of
the presentation so next we do the
evaluation well on the positive side
I've heard from my boss that this kind
of thing happens all the time in those
meetings afterwards I just felt sad
though that I'd messed up and a little
bit mad with the finance director for
interrupting me in terms of analysis
then on reflection I probably should
have sent a copy to the presentation to
each member of the leadership team in
advance I also should have followed up
with each of them in person to check
they didn't take issue with what I was
about to present this would have also
helped to calm my pre presentation
nerves as I would know I have I'd have
experience of going through it with
everyone in conclusion I realize that
these things happen and it's not the end
of the world to have a presentation go
wrong like this the good news is that I
can see a way to go forward which has a
good chance of a better outcome next
time so what are we going to do to make
things go better next time what's our
action plan
well one we're going to distribute the
presentation to key stakeholders in
advance and two we're going to run
through the plan with everyone who might
have an issue with it this will also
serve as a practice run at performing
the presentation to calm nerves
so in summary Gibbs reflective cycle
provides a six step circular process
that you can use to help you learn
through practice and experience the
first half of the model helps you
callate what happened during a previous
experience while the second half helps
you understand the improvement options
available and helps you to take action
so that you improve in any similar
situations you encounter in the future
so that's it for me really hope you
enjoyed this lesson and I look forward
to speaking to you again soon
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