Reflective management is a management theory that is acquired by the managers with time in the process of management. The reflective manager is in a position to give direction on what is happening or any issue that has occurred or what he or she has predicted an oncoming issue among many aspects of management. This will enable the manager and his team to make a long-term decision that is acceptable to the majority of the management team and the organization in general.
The current global economic crisis has presented company executives to engage in some kind of changes to survive. A reflective manager would be aware of the potential changes that are necessary to design necessary changes to stay afloat in harsh economic situations like this one.
Reflection as a tool of management has therefore been identified as one of the best ways to take the company forward in this competitive market of business.
Reflective management is an aspect of management that involves an introspective approach to the management of a business enterprise. Theoretically, however, there has never been a single approach to this aspect of management that is developed to suit or encompass all the scenarios. During the period when business fortunes are dwindling, very competent managers are required in all aspects of the business that may drive success.
That manager can “integrate the cognitive aspects and the mental-emotional processing system within himself or herself”, thus driving success. This is why the reflection aspects are necessary such that the managers can learn from past mistakes, present situations, and plans for the business. And the requirements for a successful reflective manager will certainly need a particular level of serious education that can give the manager an age in choosing the correct environment which would allow the reflection process in solving the identified problems.
Reflective management concept is more of “theory developed over years”, (Ellen 1997, p.11) that is, developed within some period or years in a general learning process. Reflective managers like thinking about their work and draw from its lesions that can help them in their present and future management challenges. “The sequence of reflective management begins with action in a particular situation and the observance effect of that action, move to the understanding of these effects in a particular instance, then to the understanding the general principle, and finally to the application through action in a new circumstance within the range of generalization”.
It, therefore, indicates that reflective management ability can be viewed as the ability to understand and draw an “abstract principle based on practitioners’ observations of their own concrete experiences and offer those observations for testing by others” (Ellen 1997, p.18).
Reflective management also involves the manager in a position to give direction on what is happening or any issue that has occurred or what he or she has predicted an oncoming issue among many aspects of management. This will enable the manager and his team to make a long-term decision that is acceptable to a majority of the management team and the organization in general. Schall &Thomas (1986, p.268) puts it, “this method will enable the rationality of a manager in making decisions that are more balanced with spirit and soul for the best long term results”
From its definition and process, it is a kind of rational and balanced approach to management. It can therefore confuse the learners in that it may be interpreted to mean avoiding risks and being indecisive in the process of decision making. However, many successful reflective managers argue that “the opposite is true” (Behn & Regina 1991, p.99). They say that a manager should develop a certain level of risk-taking that is “more integrated” mentally and internally before going ahead to implement the decision in that particular organization.
Reflective manager and entrepreneurship
The current global credit crunch is likely to lead some companies to engage in some kind of change to survive. A reflective manager should be aware of the potential changes that are necessary to design appropriate strategies that would make them least affected or not affected at all. Following this approach, it has been noticed that some companies have fundamentally started restructuring their operations to face the challenge. Such companies are headed by managers who believe that “traditional management skills” (Beckhard & Reuben 1987, p 103) are not up to the task during this period.
It’s therefore up to the management to design a complex method that would face the complex economic recession and the competitive field of marketing company’s products. To this level, most reflective practitioners believe that a reflective manager should also be a potential creative entrepreneur who can see beyond the traditional approach to management to get out of the crisis. Therefore the reflective managers can be referred to as “Manager –entrepreneurs” in some quarters where they are expected to improve the traditional methods or scopes of management that include “planning, organizing, leading and controlling”. Because the concept is associated with traditional entrepreneurship, the managers are expected to behave in an entrepreneurial manner to stay more competitive in the market (Loo & Thorpe 2002, pp. 64)
Since these companies need some spark in the management, they are seeking more innovative and creative managers with the entrepreneurial spirit. This is because most companies began with founders who had a strong entrepreneurial drive, however, as they continued growing and enlarging, the spirit of entrepreneurship faded away. Such companies, therefore, need a kind of reflective manager to carry on from the initial founders’ spirit. As summarized by Schön (1983, p.211), such companies require a “more hungry, speedy, brave, creative and innovative manager”- qualities that describe a reflective manager, that will bring some kind of stimulating and reinvention in a way that can allow the company recoups its former glory.
According to Ellen (1997, p. 267-269), a manager using his or her internal skills and reflection, should be able to; effectively manage the work of the staff, effectively structure the organization’s work, and effectively deal with a more sophisticated and difficult set of dynamic issues.
As depicted by reflective practitioner/ manager, Ellen Schall, in the narration of her experience as a mayor of the Department of Juvenile Justice, here is Ellen Schall’s section of the except his narration, “In 1983 DJJ was a city agency like many others. Its mission was not clear; it had responsibility for only a piece of the system of which it was a part; the staff was not working to its potential; its reputation was weak, and it had just lost a major political battle. In 1978 a mayoral task force had described Spofford Juvenile Detention Center, DJJ’s major secure-detention facility, as a “case history in failure.” Staff turnover was high, among both the line workers and top management: In twenty-nine years, Spofford had twenty-two directors.
In 1979 Mayor Edward I. Koch created DJJ as a separate agency, pulling its functions out of the Human Resources Administration, a much larger, super-agency, created by John Lindsay when he was mayor. DJJ was charged with responsibility for pre-trial detention and aftercare services for children under sixteen who had been arrested and were awaiting the disposition of their cases.
In 1983 Mayor Koch appointed me Commissioner of DJJ, and I embarked on an effort to transform the agency. To this task, I brought more commitment than experience. I had been a Legal Aid lawyer and had worked for the city in an oversight agency, the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Criminal Justice. Before moving to DJJ, I served for three years as deputy commissioner of the New York City Department of Correction, with responsibility for the implementation of programs and the oversight of compliance with federal court consent decrees on conditions in the city’s jails.
That job taught me the difference between announcing a policy and having line staff carry it out consistently. Mostly, however, it filled me with examples of the hazards of bureaucratic management. Other than three weeks at the John F. Kennedy School of Government’s Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government, I had little exposure to or understanding of what it took to transform a public agency.
My DJJ journey was a long but infinitely interesting one–with stops and starts, missteps and mistakes–as well as one graced with extraordinary help along the way. And I had the good fortune to attract a committed group of fellow travelers, one of whom succeeded me and served for four years as commissioner.
Over ten years, the agency reinvented itself. DJJ redefined its mission to encompass both custody and care, and then prevention. It created a case-management program for juveniles in detention. It developed a community-based aftercare component to follow kids released from detention homes. These two programs made DJJ a 1986 winner in the Ford Foundation and John F. Kennedy School of Government Awards Program for Innovations in State and Local Government. To New York City from Washington state, DJJ brought Homebuilders, a new way of serving families both intensively and preventively; adapted the program to work with families of children in the juvenile justice system; and seeded the effort to have that technology become part of New York state and New York City’s systems of serving families.
DJJ reinvigorated existing staff and attracted talented new staff. It stanched the flow of staff leaving and turned around the pattern at the top; DJJ became distinguished for the number of people who stayed for the long term. Finally, the challenge that resulted in the demise of the agency’s previous administration was met: In 1989 the last approval necessary was achieved for the physical replacement of Spofford; groundbreaking began for two new smaller facilities in 1992, and occupancy is scheduled for 1998. In 1989 DJJ was featured in Tom Peters’s PBS documentary on Excellence in the Public Sector. And in 1992 it was selected by the Annie E. Casey Foundation as one of five sites for participation in a national juvenile detention initiative”.
There are numerous reflective lessons to be learned in this narration. The transition in this narration involves what economic experts would call “organizational transformation”. In his studies as a management consultant, Reuben Harris determines 3 stages of this kind of transformation; a vision for the future well-articulated, the present was well analyzed, and transitional management from one aspect to another
It’s from Ellen’s experience that I can draw lessons that can address some fundamental tasks that are required by a reflective manager in an “innovative manner”.
A reflective manager should be able to listen to the inner self such that will enable him or her to listen to the staff. It has been noted that workers who are treated harshly by the management are likely to turn such behaviors towards the clients. As business sociologists would say it “staff that is treated harshly will, turn around and impose that harshness to the people over whom they have some power” (Kahn 1993, p.33).
Still, the staff that has mental torture that their needs are not appropriately met will not have full concentration on their duties. So for the staff to look after the children well in an appropriate way at DJJ, they were to well nurtured, motivated, and inspired by the management. This would only occur due from the perspective of a reflective manager. It is clear that for an organization to successfully transform itself, the work should be inspired by the top management who should be able to learn the plights of the junior staff who will, in turn, reflect their feelings on the clients or customers. At this stage, most people will demonize the immediate staff they interact with, not knowing that the problem emanates from top management. This is where a reflective manager can follow the connectivity between the staff behaviors and the overall feelings. Simply put, “it is hard to give what you do not get” (Loo & Thorpe 2002, p. 44)
Clear objectives
As a manager, the expectations from the board and shareholders may be overwhelming. The challenges may be numerous such that the manager may be faced with dilemmas on which duty to carry out first with his team. The manager however has a responsibility to handle these challenges diligently through articulate and well-crafted objectives that are achievable. This can only be done by selectively choosing the most important and easily “doable tasks” as this would create an appropriate environment for the staff to have a clear vision of the goals to be achieved.
In his article “small wins: Redesigning the scale of Social problems”, Karl E Weick of Cornell University developed the idea of how to celebrate “small wins” (Karl 1984, p.45). He argued that the “massive scale on which social problems are conceived” can prevent innovation, proposing that “reformulation of broad social issues as mere problems” can generate a “series of small wins” that is good for the building of effective action. This will call for a manager who can recognize some small successes among his or her staff and acknowledge such successes to boost the morale of the staff (Karl 1984, p.48)
Forum of expression of ideas
It must be noted that in every organization, success cannot be attributed to a single individual. The success is attributed to the team through the management starting from the top. That is, the top management is receiving the accolades on behalf of the team that they manage. It’s therefore practical to inform that everyone needs to be recognized as part of a team that is driving for success. The team needs to feel that they are valued by the organization for their contribution. This can be done through organizing forums where each member of the team has an opportunity to express their ideas and expose their unique innovations. This would be the responsibility of a manager in charge to foster such unity and innovative forums to drive success among the team.
According to her narration, Ellen intimate that some of the staff members were having a problem with the idea of “establishing a group home for intake in the non-secure detention program”. So this group started to group themselves in small units and they were able to influence many of the other staff members who began to support them. However, when their grievances were aired in a group discussion, their problem was listened to and eventually tackled. Thus the energy that was initially directed into complaining was “shifted into more productive discussions of how to resolve real differences” (Ellen 1997, p. 268). It’s, therefore, advisable leaders need to be creative such that they can have both formal and informal forums such the staff can get their issues aired in an appropriate manner and fairness prevail.
The narrator further indicates that when he had some “useful meetings” with his staff, where he delegated leadership of the meeting to another executive manager, the meeting brought out several important issues and new ideas, “the staff who worked two levels down no longer had the urge or opportunity to bypass their boss and pass out their ideas directly on me” and their status of the managers improved (Ellen 1997, p. 269),
A reflective manager is also likely to create a wider and more spread management team. This is likely to improve the roles of every team member. For example, every staff from the lowest cadre is to be given a supervisory role hence put themselves in a position of leadership such that they represent the organization in general. This would increase the staff’s confidence and identity hence improves their understanding of the organization’s goals.
The hiring process
For a reflective manager, hiring and firing of the staff is a very strategic process that needs his or her contribution. Even though most managers overlook this aspect, it has been noted that managers who take seriously the processes are likely to have a more successful team of staff. This is where it may be tricky for a non-reflective manager to replace a staff member who had left. In filling such major posts, a reflective manager would sit down and reflect on the direction the organization wants to pursue.
Such managers have a clear mind of where goals the goals of the organization lies, hence the keen interest who to take such strategic positions so that he or she would be able to focus on the future of the organization. Such managers would want to have those who have a hunger for success and do not carry their burden of past failures in other organizations.
The employees who want to face challenges and not even them. That employee can identify specific areas of weaknesses that he or she has seen. The hiring process also requires the analysis of the individual’s ability to handle power with maturity and pass their authority on a group of those who are reporting to him or her directly. This is the reflective manager’s unique approach to the hiring process where he will also be seeking guidelines on areas where he or she does not find clarity (Ellen & Kathleen1992, p.9)
Crisis management Vs Long- term strategies
When in a management crisis, most managers are likely to be faced with the dilemma of balancing long-term goals and short-term crises. Immediate and short-term crises are likely to engulf the managers’ minds such that they cannot effectively think of the actual long-term goals. Its, therefore, is noted that reflective managers do have a clear sight of goals and they have the “capacity to build long term strategic agenda while simultaneously managing the short term crises” (Karl 1984, p.46). This can be achieved through the formation of a “strategy group” that is supposed to be tasked with directing the mission of the organization. This would be appropriate for developing and maintaining long-term goals such that every staff would have a clear vision of what to do to achieve these goals.
Culture of the organization and change theme
When a new manager is hired to steer the organization, the first thing to do to get properly integrated with the organization is to learn the present culture of that organization. A reflective manager would be able to go through the history of the organization and understand why the organizational structure is the way it is? The reason people behave the way they do, and many other things as related to the general organizational behavior.
It is only through this that the manager can focus on the new direction and the proposed changes to a new culture. This would be important in that the new management would be able to understand that the “original aspect of culture played a great effort to devise a strategy that would help move people in a new direction. Such aspects are like changing the culture of time management and setting new “standards of excellence” (Isaacson1983, p. 90).
In this process, it may be tricky since the organization may begin to feel the presence of change but the manager may not be sure of the likelihood of success. However, the manager must act as if the change will certainly be positive before the other staff members’ beliefs. This calls for self-confidence in the manager who will reflect on the positivity of a change before it occurs. It also calls for the manager to be completely convinced in the face of doubt among people of the direction the organization is taking
Consultations and seek for help
A good and reflective manager will accept what he or she is not aware of, that is, “acknowledging what you don’t know and what you know, what you can and what you can’t” (Woerkom et al 2002, p. 375). They need also to learn how to get the right people to handle the right task and get the “right help from outside the organization” too. The manager should also avoid complete over-reliance on outside help for he or she may be faced with the challenge of not getting the right people to run the organization. Even if it is a consultancy, their outcome must just adhere to the goals of the organization. A reflective manager would be able to contribute to the consultant’s findings, identify specific issues and needs of the organization and chart the way forward. He or she would be able to take the “responsibility of developing the long term agenda” (Woerkom et al 2002, p. 378)
Planning technique
In management, planning is an essential tool in getting the organization’s set goals to be achievable. A reflective manager can know what tasks are for the internal staff and which ones are supposed to be performed by external contractors or consultants. This would require a clear-cut decision-making process, mostly done by the top organ of the organization where the organization’s policy is made.
However, the implementation decisions should be made at the level where it is carried out, i.e. made by the people who are involved in the implementation process. A reflective manager can be assertive and not necessarily dictatorial. By this, he or she can assemble the team of the top executives and set a policy that is meant to develop a particular case management methodology. There may be a disgruntled group of staff members on the specific policy, but once deemed fit by the management, it should be carried out as planned. However, in the planning process, the line staff must be involved. This would enable a coherent flow of information and understanding among the staff members and the senior management.
Sorting the correct issues to fight for
When identifying areas that would need some kind of force to work on, the process should be very careful and strategic such that once decided on, “you are likely to care more about the issues than the people on the other side and that will help you prevail”, hence the need to show up the proposal as incredible and worth thinking of. Even though opposition may cop up, once a clear reflection on the need to pass such a proposal is seen, it is likely to draw some positive response from the majority who would be able to see your point of argument.
Successful managers have picked some fights and won, thus drawing some kind of respect from the likely opponents. “Once you pick some fights, people are less likely to take you on……since the budget staff has many potential places to look for cuts. If they believe you are likely to appeal their decisions and win, they may think twice before they push hard” (Hoyrup 2004, p.443).
Mistakes and solution
As a manager who wants to progress, a reflective person should be able to face any form of mistake and avoid running away from them. Fixing a mistake involves reflecting on the reasons why the mistake occurred, how it occurred, and the source of the mistake. The analysis of the mistake should be looked at in “dynamic interaction between the innovation and the organization that maximizes the chance of learning as the new program unfolds and of having learning influence the ongoing conceptual design.
The scale is small enough when you can hold the conceptual and the operational close at hand and manage the interplay to the benefit of both”. When in a process of mistake correction, a reflective manager would be able to see the “gaps in the original design and thinking. This would help in getting the facts that would be useful in getting the program towards a “sound basis and document results” appropriately (Behn 1991, p.129)
Creating opportunities
In the field as a manager, one should be able to take some calculated risks. A reflective manager would not wait to be directed to invent new ideas. Everyone will be looking at you to see if you are coming up with new ideas. “No one suggested that we find ways to work effectively with the families of the children in our custody. It was our conclusion based on our work with clients, and we authorized ourselves to move ahead”. Now that is a reflective manager speaking. Such a decision would not need an unnecessary hurry but a clear thought with reflection on the possible outcome and the repercussions. The clearly designed approach will not wait for approval from the “legitimate source of executive action” (Isaacson 1983, p.249)
With time, a manager of an organization can make or “establish a sense of trust and teamwork and a willingness to take risks”, a process that does not come in a flush or instantly. The level of commitment of the individual team members can be measured by the way the manager is handling each extraordinary scenario. A reflective manager, therefore, can foster a kind of organizational structure that would be able to “foster both learning and achievement.
With a result worthy of mention, the success is as good as the level of the task. As a manager, some of the personal drawbacks that come as a result of work may be hard to comprehend or accept. Woking in a group sometimes becomes difficult with different groups since every group members have different opinions and ideas. “Irrational feelings” are the order of the day in any group process. Many group process experts advise that the best way to deal with such problems is to allow the group members to express their inward feelings and that if such situations occur, the manager should not attempt to be irrational since it may “block effective work” (Isaacson 1983, p.301)
The process of reflection has been identified as a good tool of management that is learned with time. That is the more someone stays in the management process, the more is the possibility of acquiring the reflective skills that make a reflective manager. This is when the manager would be able to handle a challenging task that seems difficult for one who doe not take time to reflect on the past, present, and focus on the plans. And research has found that very successful companies like Motorola, 3M, and Citicorp have been guided by reflective managers who had entrepreneurial skills (Woerkom et al 2002, p. 381).
Reference
Behn, D & Regina, K 1991, ‘Research on Innovation- In Research on Innovations in State and Local Government’: The 1991 Conferences, Duke University. Governors’ Cente, pp. 99.
Beckhard, R & Reuben, T 1987, ‘Organizational Transitions: Managing Complex Change’, Reading, Mass: Addison-Wesley, pp.103.
Schall, E. Ed 1997, ‘Innovation in American Government: Challenges, Opportunities, and Dilemmas’; Washington D.C, Brookings Institution Press, pp. 2001-238.
Schön, A 1983, ‘The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action. Basic Books’, New York, Jossey-Bass, pp.211.
Schall, E &Thomas, N 1986, ‘Use of Case Management as a Revitalizing Theme in a Juvenile Justice Agency: Public Administration Review’, vol. 46, no. 3, pp. 267-274.
Hoyrup, S 2004, ‘Reflection as a core process in organisational learning’, The Journal of Workplace Learning, 16 (8) pp. 442-454.
Kahn, A 1993, ‘Facilitating and Undermining Organizational Change: A Case Study’, Journal of Applied Behavioural Science, vol. 29, no. I: pp. 32-55.
Karl E 1984, ‘Small Wins: Redefining the Scale of Social Problems’, American Psychologist, vol. 39, pp. 40-49.
Isaacson, J 1983, ‘Executive Search: A Manual for Commissioner Schall and Her Able and Willing Staff’, Boston: Isaacson. Pp.89-92
Behn, D 1991, ‘Innovations and Public Values: Mistakes, Flexibility, Purpose, Equity, Cost Control, and Trust’, Paper prepared for the conference on the Fundamental Questions of Innovation, Duke University.
Ellen, S & Kathleen F1992, ‘Guidelines to Grope By: Reflections from the Field’, Innovating, vol. 2, no. 3, pp.3-11.
Loo, R & Thorpe, K 2002, ‘Using reflective learning journals to improve individual and team performance’, Team Performance Management: An International Journal. 8 (5/6) pp.134-139.
Woerkom, M, Nijhof, W & Nieuwenhuis, L 2002, ‘Critical reflective behaviour: a survey research’, Journal of European Industrial Training 26 (8) pp. 375-383.