Completing the Year by Carol Zizzo

Over twenty years ago, I participated in the trainings offered by Landmark Education Corporation (LEC). The trainings offered me the tools to examine my life experiences and what I had to say about them. I also learned to identify beliefs I had adopted from those experiences and to consider whether they were still serving me. If not, I could work on ways to leave these beliefs behind or create new ways of seeing them. If these beliefs were still serving me, I could carry them forward in ways that enhanced my leadership and my life. Through the trainings of LEC, I also learned how to complete the past.

Since that time, I have developed a practice of completing my year by writing myself a summary letter at the end of each year. I reflect upon the previous year’s accomplishments and failures. I consider unfinished business details or difficult situations that I may have avoided during the busyness of day-to-day work. I note my appreciation of others; assess my overall health and the vitality of my relationships. Reflecting on my year in this way often fills me with compassion for our shared humanity and empties me of what will not be needed in the year ahead.

Harvard Business School business theorist and professor Chris Argyris’s model refers to this activity as “double loop learning.” Double loop learning points to the importance of leaders and organizations taking time to reflect on their past decisions and to create new ways of doing business. Using data and feedback from the past, taking time to identify and question current assumptions that are influencing business decisions keeps individuals and organizations healthy and learning.

As a team practice, we complete the year as part of our company’s annual December retreat. We reflect on the past year’s business results, accomplishments and setbacks. We take time to acknowledge and appreciate the ways in which each team member has contributed to our success.

If a practice of completing the past year seems like it would serve you as a leader, or your team, here is a simple process to consider.

1. Schedule some quiet uninterrupted time.
2. Gather your calendar, journals, notepads or any other means of helping you remember the key events of the past year.
3. As you identify and reflect on these events, ask yourself the following:
• What happened this past year? (Describe the experience and how you experienced it/them)
• What did I learn from it?
4. Record your responses in a completion summary letter.
5. If this is a group process, engage these same questions via a thoughtful team discussion.

Remember, keep learning and expanding. It is one of the keys to success.