CHAPTER FOUR
REFLECTIVE MANAGEMENT: PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL SELF–
AWARENESS
KEY CONCEPTS
Self-mastery, a lifelong process, is the ability to maintain and refine a vision of what is
Active reflection occurs in the midst of activity or challenges.
Proactive reflection occurs after the fact, mulling over what happened and planning a
possible different course in the future.
Community reflection is a form of proactive reflection with a group of peers under
guidance of a facilitator.
Emotional labor is the psychological effort involved in controlling the expression of
surface acting (displaying particular
emotions regardless of how one feels) or deep acting (trying to match genuine feelings to
demands of the job).
Leadership styles range from autocratic to free rein. In between these extremes,
participative leaders can use a consultative, consensus or democratic approach to
involve others in varying degrees.
Emotional intelligence includes awareness of self and others as well as self-management
ACTIVITIES AND PROJECTS FOR STUDENTS
1. Ask students to recall a situation in which they engaged in active reflection in other words,
What factors did they consider? What was the outcome?
2. Next, ask them to try proactive reflection. Discuss the situation they examined for question 1.
Was the outcome what they expected or wanted to happen? What might they have done
3. If your college or university has a counseling center, ask whether a representative could
4. Alternatively, have students take an on-line test based on Jung-Myers-Briggs typology at the
following website:
5. Have students use the chart in Figure 4.2 in the text to assess their own symptoms of stress
and then to identify specific strategies for coping with it.
6. Have students access the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct and the Supplement for
administrators at http://www.naeyc.org/positionstatements and consider the following
situation:
Over the past three weeks, two-year-old Hannah has bitten nearly every other child in her
group at least once, some several times. Although it is your policy not to reveal the name of
the child who bites, the children who can talk have told their parents. The lead teacher for
7. Ask students to locate a time-management tool that can be used with a personal computer
8. Have students use the interactive time management tool found online at
9. Have students use Exercise 4.1 to consider their own time-management practices in relation
Exercise 4.1 Prioritizing Tasks
On a separate sheet of paper make a list of everything you did yesterday.
1. List those items that are underlined and marked with an asterisk. These are the tasks that
Stephen Covey (1989) would identify as both important and urgent. Consider whether you
could have worked on any of these tasks ahead of time (i.e., when they were important but
not urgent). Would that have made a difference in the quality of your work? Would it have
reduced your feelings of stress?
2. List the items that are underlined only. These are the activities that are well worth your
3. List the items that are marked with an asterisk but not underlined. These may have
demanded immediate attention although they did not contribute significantly to your overall
goals. Can you think of ways you could have postponed dealing with these at least until after
you had accomplished the items listed in 1 and 2 above?
4. List the items that are neither underlined nor marked with an asterisk (i.e., neither important
nor urgent). Could any of these have been eliminated?