Time for reflective practice
This year, Craigmyle is making time for reflective practice. It’s an opportunity to identify practical ways our team of fundraising consultants can better support our clients as well as supporting each other as colleagues and investing in our own personal development.
Reflective practice involves reflecting on your actions so as to engage in a process of continual learning.
A commitment to learning and professional development has been part of the Craigmyle story right from the start and is enshrined in our code of practice.
Having agreed a process in January, over the next couple of months all ten of the Craigmyle consultants have found time amidst busy schedules to undertake some preparatory thinking, then met (virtually) with a colleague which resulted in an action plan.
It’s been a useful, interesting and enjoyable process taking time to review and reflect together. Taking a structured and focused approach has enabled us to more consciously share knowledge and experiences across the team.
This peer-supported reflective practice process has helped us
- Get another person’s point of view
- Step back and see the wood instead of the trees
- Challenge long practices methodologies, enabling us to validate or develop them
- Crystalise and define some complex matters
- Consider how to take forward new areas of work
- Apply existing knowledge or build on skills in a new way
- Gain perspective and reflect upon on-going projects with an experienced colleague
It’s also been helpful, in the fast-changing context of fundraising in 2021, to share learning across the team, seeing commonalities and current issues in fundraising across different sectors.
Of course, reflective practice isn’t a one off. We’ll be revisiting our action plans throughout the year. Crucially, we want to ensure that making time for reflective practice delivers real benefits for our clients and how we can support them, now and in the future.
