Organizing Reflective Practice

This paper explores reflective practice from an organizational perspective, in order to shift the focus in management and organization studies from the individual reflective practitioner towards the organization of reflection. A framework for understanding the organization of reflection is presented, built from four existing theories: critical reflection, public reflection, productive reflection and organizing reflection. The paper argues that reflection is an essential part of the day-to-day life of managers, not a disconnected, separate activity but central, supported by structures and the culture of the workplace, affecting decisions and choices, policies and activities and the politics and emotion associated with them. In this way, being reflective will not be understood as a technique, learned and sometimes applied, but an integral part of what it means to lead and to manage.