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The Use of Reflection as an Effective Leadership Practice: An Overview of Two Reflection Models

Christy Chiarelli andAnne Parrish

Introduction

The first publication in this series, The Use of Reflection as an Effective Leadership Practice: An Introduction, provided an overview of reflection as an effective leadership practice. Reflection is an important component of leadership and developing a habit of reflection may lead to increased leadership effectiveness.

Johnson’s (2020) reflection definition is relevant to leaders. He notes “reflection is the intentional habit of creating space to think in order to pursue clarity of thought, learn from experiences and proactively advance ideas” (p. 23). Johnson rightly identifies “what” leaders need to do: build intentional habits of creating space to think. And he indicates “why” leaders should reflect: to pursue clarity of thought, learn from experiences and proactively advance ideas. However, this definition does not include the “how” of reflection. The purpose of this publication is to highlight models of reflection and uncover how leaders can utilize frameworks to build reflective habits.

Reflection Models

Reflection is a tool in the leader’s toolbox to help them learn and make sense of the world around them. Peter Senge, an expert in organizational leadership, says “superior performance depends on superior learning” (Senge, 1990, p. 7). While there are many reflection models available, this publication will focus on two: Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle and the Borton Model of Reflection. These models were chosen to explore due to their straightforward nature and ability to be integrated into a leader’s busy schedule.

Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle

Graham Gibbs first outlined this reflective cycle in 1988. Gibbs expands on Kolb’s four stage reflection model to include six stages of reflection. These stages are description, feelings, evaluation, analysis, conclusions and personal action plans (Gibbs, 1988). This reflection cycle can be processed through individual journaling, one-on-one coaching or in a group setting with a facilitator.

  • Description stage—In this stage, leaders should articulate what happened during the experience. The key element in this stage is to simply articulate what happened and avoid making assumptions or judgments about what was observed. Beginning with a factual account of the experience or event helps to remove emotions that may bias the ultimate reflection process.
  • Feelings stage—During this stage, leaders name the feelings they had during or as a result of the experience. Again, at this point in the process, there should be no analysis of the feelings or judgments about the feelings. Naming how the leader felt about the experience continues to provide the foundation from which the reflective process can grow.
  • Evaluation stage—During this stage, leaders can begin making initial value judgments about the experience. During this stage, they can determine what was “good” and “bad” about the experience. Additionally, they may expand this stage by considering what was challenging or seamless in the experience.
  • Analysis stage—In this fourth stage, leaders should begin the sense making process of reflection. Leaders should begin considering why things happened the way they did, what were the causes and effects of the experience and linking past experiences or knowledge with the current experience to better understand the current situation (Praveena, et. al, 2025).
  • Conclusion stage—In this stage, leaders begin to make conclusions from their evaluation and analysis stage. Conclusions should be both general and specific to one’s personal leadership. In this stage, leaders may ask themselves questions like “what could have been done differently?” and/or “how might this experience have been improved?” (Praveena, et. al, 2025).
  • Action Plan stage—In this final stage, leaders ask themselves “what will I do the next time this situation occurs?” Additionally, leaders may consider “now that I have had this experience, how will I lead differently?” Determining next steps is critical to closing the reflection cycle. The action plan stage helps to solidify the new insights gained. If new insights are not gained, then true reflection hasn’t occurred; rather the leader had just spent time recalling the events. True reflection leads to new insights that in turn impact a leader’s future decisions.
Circular process diagram presents a reflective practice cycle for reviewing an experience and planning improvement. Colored circles and directional arrows connect Description (“What happened”), Feelings, Evaluation, Analysis, Conclusion, and Action Plan, ending with a plan to move forward differently.
Figure 1. Gibbs' Reflective Cycle.

Borton Model of Reflection

Terry Borton was an American schoolteacher who created a framework for reflection in 1970. This model has three primary questions: What? So What? Now What? (Borton, 1970). Due to its simplistic nature, this model may be advantageous for busy leaders. However, even though there are fewer steps to this process, leaders should not use the brevity of steps to shortcut the intentional reflection process.

  • What?—During this phase, leaders reconstruct the experience they want to reflect on. This phase combines Gibbs’ description, feelings and evaluation stages. Questions to consider during this stage include “what happened?”, “what went well?” and “what went poorly?” (Haghighat, et. al, 2019).
  • So What?—The second phase encourages the leader to consider alternative action pathways that could have been taken in an effort to prepare for similar situations in the future. This stage converges Gibbs’ analysis and conclusion stages by asking questions such as “what was the outcome?” and “what did you learn from this situation?”
  • Now What?—This final phase asks the leader to apply the newly gained insight and knowledge to test the alternative action paths. This stage corresponds to Gibbs’ action plan stage by asking questions such as “what do you need to do moving forward?” and “what changes will I make due to this new insight?” (Haghighat, et. al, 2019).

Conclusion

Reflecting on experiences is a well-accepted component for learning. However, one barrier to reflecting well is a lack of knowledge about the frameworks guiding the reflection process. The Gibbs model and the Borton model of reflection are two such frameworks that leaders can apply even as the workplace continues to become more complex and fast-paced. Through intentionally utilizing reflection, leaders can garner new insights, increasing their efficacy and productivity.

References

Borton, T. (1970). Reach, touch and teach. McGraw Hill.

Gibbs, G. (1988). Learning by Doing: A Guide to Teaching and Learning Methods. FEU, London.

Haghighat, G. E., Hosseinichimeh, N., & Kleiner, B. M. (2019). Fundamental elements of reflective practice in organizations. IISE Annual Conference Proceedings, 32-37. Retrieved from https://login.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/fundamental-elements-reflective-practice/docview/2511389643/se-2

Johnson, O. E. (2020). Creating space to think: The what, why, and how of deliberate reflection for effective leadership. The Journal of Character & Leadership Development, 7(1). Retrieved from https://jcldusafa.org/index.php/jcld/article/view/102

Praveena, K. S., Juslin, F., Chandraskekar M. P., & Bhargavi, K. (2025). Using Gibbs' reflective model for enhancing project-based learning among students through reflective assessment. Journal of Engineering Education Transformations, 38(2): 148-155. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.16920/jeet/2025/v38is2/25018

Senge, P. (1990). The leader’s new work: Building learning organizations. Sloan Management Review, 32(1).