Journaling for Professional Development: Turning Outcomes into Learnings
If you’ve ever gone through something at work and felt like it really could have or should have come out a different way, something was just off, or you know you didn’t respond ideally and you wish you knew what to do differently, then this journaling method of turning outcomes into learnings is just for you.
We’ve all been there:
- Sat through a meeting where you know the whole team isn’t being as useful or productive as they could be
- Gotten unexpectedly bad feedback on something
- Sensed defensiveness from one of your stakeholders or partners
- Underperformed and known it but not how to fix it
The list goes on.
What is so often missing in these scenarios is anyone who can help you pinpoint the real issue and determine a better way forward.
You might have a boss that’s always ready with that “just-in-time feedback,” that tends to center around “here’s what you did wrong,” and never helps with how to partner in order to resolve the situation. Or, you may be at a level in your career where your boss just isn’t that involved in your every day and you almost wish they were so you could benefit from a better version of that interaction.
Many of us, either ill-fitted with a manager that isn’t managering or at a level in our career where the available mentors are slim pickings, feel the need to gather actionable insights from somewhere or someone in order to continue progressing through our careers effectively.
That’s where you come in.
Me?
Yes, you.
You are your own best judge in moments like these. You know exactly what was felt, exactly what was said, exactly what went wrong. So it’s time to buckle up and learn from your experience. But that’s really hard to do if you don’t have some sort of guide. So here it is.
This journaling method comes from an article in The Harvard Business Review titled, “The More Senior Your Job Title, The More You Need to Keep a Journal.” Mind you, I do not get paid to rep HBR, I just truly love their content and have found so many excellent gems there with methods and takeaways backed by research and science, so I’m a fan.
I highly recommend taking a moment to read the article for additional context before processing through the below, but here is what I’ve gleaned from using this particular journaling method.
- Begin your journal entry by stating the main issue or outcome.
- Dig in and find the reason for the issue or outcome by asking “Why?” 5 times.
- Consider the emotions involved and why they might have come to the surface.
- Reflect on the above and determine what you can learn from this experience, turning those learnings into actionable steps to correct the issue or for when something similar comes up in the future.
I always find it helpful to see examples, and so I will share one of mine with you. For context, the issue in the journal entry I’m sharing below occurred after I was moved to a newly created team within the same company. I had some entirely new team members and collaborators as well as some team members or collaborators I had known at the company or worked with somewhat tangentially on other projects in the past. Names changed below.
Begin your journal entry by stating the main issue or outcome.
I’m finding that Jenny seems to be defensive every time I open my mouth and seems to instantly want to shut down whenever I speak in a meeting. She seems annoyed or perturbed at me specifically.
Dig in and find the reason for the issue or outcome by asking “Why?” 5 times.
Why? Because my style can be a bit abrasive and she’s not used to it.
Why? Because she isn’t aware that I am highly opinionated but also highly collaborative and can change my opinion based on additional information and opinions.
Why? Because I haven’t told her.
Why? Because I assumed since we kind of worked together before that she was aware of my working and collaborating style.
Why? No good reason. I should not have assumed that.
Consider the emotions involved and why they might have come to the surface.
She probably feels threatened by my directness especially because she doesn’t know I expect my partners to be as opinionated and as direct so that we can quickly learn from each other and find the best options available to us. I feel frustrated because she has misjudged me and I am an excellent partner and want to work well with her.
Reflect on the above and determine what you can learn from this experience, turning those learnings into actionable steps to correct the issue or for when something similar comes up in the future.
I know I need to have a reconciliation call with her, start from scratch and let her know that I’ve noticed there’s some frustration between us and I desire for us to get along and work well together. Explain to her how I work and that I want to hear her opinions as well. Ask her how I can be a better partner so that we can work effectively together and have a positive working relationship.
Going through the above, you can see how in just a few short questions, I was able to take a bad outcome and come up with very clear steps to understand and resolve the issue — no special mentor or great boss needed! I have everything I need to be successful. I only have to take time to reflect, to dig into issues, and then to determine next best steps.
I followed up on this insight by having exactly that conversation I detailed above with Jenny. And things are drastically different now. There is mutual respect and an understanding that we are on the same team working towards the same goals and we value each other’s opinions. She feels comfortable challenging me and we can easily go back and forth on ideas to shake out what’s best together.
Very often, we feel like we do not have what it takes, that we need direction and insight from someone else.
But we are the most aware of, the closest to, and the most intimate with our own strengths and weaknesses, our own actions and outcomes. And we are the best to judge our own behaviors in the contexts in which they occur.
Trust yourself, and dig deep with this excellent journaling technique. You’ll be glad you did!
Be sure to check out my other methods for Journaling for Professional Development:
