“We do not learn from experience… we learn from reflecting on experience.” John Dewey
Following on from my last post, Q is for Question Everything, once we’ve found the solution to a problem and implemented it we should always review what happened and reflect on what we’ve learned from the process; not to assign blame, but to do better next time.
This has long been the practice in quality management. Deming and Shewhart developed the PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act) cycle to ensure continuous improvement. David Kolb developed an experiential learning cycle along the same lines and with deference to the above gurus, here’s my humble contribution:
Routinely debriefing work activities with the team will generate great ideas, process improvement and engagement. It’s also a constructive way of reviewing performance and planning personal and team development.
