I recently attended the book launch of Dr Suzi Skinner and Dr Paul Lawrence’s upcoming book, The Reflective Difference: The Heart of Wise Leadership, organised by the Association for Coaching. I left full of energy and new ideas, but one thought stayed with me above all others.
We do not need to reflect more. We need to reflect differently.
This sounds simple, yet in teaching, reflection is often treated as something individuals do alone, usually in isolation and with limited impact. Does that really make a difference? I have been working in education for over 20 years, and there has been plenty of reflection, but rarely shared reflection. Dr Skinner reminded us that organisations can also remain deeply unreflective, a comment that felt much more accurate. Yet that idea felt both true and uncomfortable. If I asked school leaders, I imagine many would feel that saying they do not reflect would be unfair. But what Dr Skinner was pointing to is that reflective practice, when it is done well, becomes a shared discipline. It is less about analysis and more about creating the conditions for insight.
There were several ideas from the launch that I am taking away. Inviting teams to travel in time, looking at the past, present and future, can surface different perspectives and reveal the complexity we are working within. Tools such as Ecocycle Planning and Wicked Questions can help make tensions and patterns more visible, and I will always have a soft spot for Liberating Structures as part of that toolkit.
Someone in the room said that change happens at the speed of alignment, and that felt closely linked to trust and to deeper, more thoughtful reflective conversations. Dr Skinner also spoke about wise leadership not simply as good decision-making, but as the ability to reflect well and to help others reflect too.
As coaches and facilitators, suspending judgement and holding space is not passive. It actively creates insight that flows back into the system. There was also an interesting tension around measurement. In areas such as wellbeing and positive psychology, not everything that matters can be easily measured, yet we still need to work with it. Sitting with that tension, rather than rushing to resolve it, felt important. Perhaps most importantly, this work can be playful. Much of my time in primary schools reminds me of that. Thinking and doing, mind and hands, all working together, was the final reflection that stayed with me.
I work with mid-career teachers and teams, offering support as an accredited coach and team coach. My approach is warm, practical, and collaborative, helping people reflect, grow, and move forward with confidence.
Candida Javaid Coaching & Mentoring 