Strategic Fund Development: Building Profitable Relationships That Last, Third Edition

Leaders as Reflective Practitioners

Leaders are reflective practitioners. Leaders create an organizational climate that encourages individual and group reflection. Also, leaders help others develop their capacity for reflection.

“Reflection is the art of listening to our inner voice for insights about a question and accessing intelligence that may go beyond our personal knowledge or experience.” So says Robert Gunn.59

Gunn reminds us that our thinking creates our reality. He also notes that as humans, we have a unique gift: the power to change our thoughts. As we change our thoughts, so our reality will change. To reflect upon one’s history, experience, actions, and their implications helps us understand, and then allows us to create a new future. Reflection can help us create our reality.

As reflective practitioners, leaders have a deep understanding of themselves and strive to understand those around them. These leaders strive to create communities of reflection, thus expanding understanding and learning. As Gunn notes, these leaders serve others as well as themselves.

Gunn proposes a set of questions to help the reflective practitioner become aware of his or her thinking habits:60

• Am I responding to my own ego?
• Do I allow myself some quiet time to reflect (or am I booking my schedule fully, going from one project or meeting to the next without a break)?
• Am I asking questions of others to elicit a full understanding of their thoughts or statements?
• Am I thinking in terms of ...