The Reflection Toolkit is a compilation of many of the reflection tools and resources that our collaboration members have used in their systems change efforts
What is it for? Why would you use it?
Reflection is a crucial practice in any effort to create equitable systems change. Reflecting at the person, group, and systems level can bring many benefits to our change efforts:
- Quality of decision-making is improved by considering more options at greater depth
- Greater understanding of the context and complexity of the issues
- Our individual and collective thinking is more holistic and grounded
- Reflection is often healing, allowing us to name feelings and share stories
- Our mindsets and worldviews are expanded
The compilation of this toolkit is our care package for you as a change agent striving to build a world in which we can all thrive. We hope its many tools and resources will support you in deepening and sustaining the impact of your work.
How to use this tool?
The Reflection Toolkit is divided into three sections: Self, Group, Systems.
Just as everything is connected within our ecosystems, we recognize that there is much interconnection and overlap with the tools we have gathered. The organization of our toolkit is simply a structure that offers a starting place. We welcome you to dive into and use these tools in whatever way is most impactful and helpful for you.
Self Reflection
These tools can be especially helpful in grounding individuals who lead, host, participate in, and/or pursue systems change efforts. Whatever your role may be as an individual, these reflection tools focus on cultivating self-awareness and nurturing support for sustaining your long-term efforts.
Group Reflection
These tools can be especially helpful for groups navigating systems change efforts. Bringing a group of diverse individuals together to advance equitable systems change is a hefty endeavor in and of itself. Weaving together the wisdom, experience, and innovative thinking of each team member requires a great deal of skill. These reflection tools can support groups through the various stages of their systems change efforts.
- Tools for Group Formation: This is a time for developing shared understanding, clarifying the purpose and need, examining assumptions. This can also be a fertile time for divergent thinking rather than automatically reaching for old salutations and patterns.
- Tools for Growth and Emergence: This is a time for allowing divergent thinking and new ideas to emerge for full consideration. Groups are called to embrace tension and lean into the rich potential of conflicting ideas that are a healthy part of any systems change process.
- Tools for Convergence: This is a time for groups to move to action. By developing shared understanding while making space for divergent thinking to emerge, groups are able to begin working towards the strategies, approaches, initiatives, and decisions that are needed to advance equitable systems change. This is an important time to reflect on what has emerged in your group process as you move into operationalizing your group decision.
Systems Reflection
These tools can be especially helpful when reflecting on how the system(s) you are embedded in are operating. They are tools for zooming out and considering the landscape that we are trying to navigate in an effort to better understand the larger impacts of our roles, strategies and approaches.