UK Cyber Security Council with Aurelia Brzezowska, Chair of the Youth Advisory Panel | 08th May 2026

The practice of reflecting on your own actions, difficult situations you’ve found yourself in, events you’ve attended, and problems you’ve encountered, has become increasingly widespread and important in today’s workplace. Professionals and employers understand that thinking about their experiences not only helps them make sense of past successes and failures, but provides a roadmap to navigate similar situations going forward.

In this blog, we break down the idea of reflective practice, why it can be helpful, and how you can use it. There’s also insight from Aurelia Brzezowska, Chair of our Youth Advisory Panel, who shares examples of how she uses reflective practice in her work as an aspiring cyber security professional.

What is reflection?

Reflection is the process of thinking carefully about a specific subject or an experience. This means taking time to deliberately analyse, evaluate, and extrapolate what you’ve experienced and how to learn from it for the future in a structured way.

It is a way to be proactive about your own development, both personal and professional, and to plan strategically how to act in the future to achieve the best results. Reflection is very personal and subjective but allows you to process what is happening in your life and look at it constructively. It is referred to as a practice because it needs to be done both intentionally and at regular intervals to get the most out of it.

Why is it important?

There are numerous benefits to incorporating reflective practice into your personal and professional life. It can help you:

See the bigger picture.
Identify areas in which your behaviour/ attitude/ actions need to change.
Pinpoint areas for improvement or knowledge gaps.
Process overwhelming events.
Learn from your inner voice about what you could have done differently.
Celebrate what you are doing well.
Navigate complex emotions and improve your wellbeing.
Try new things and be more creative about finding solutions.
Challenge assumptions you make about yourself and others.
Become more responsive and open to feedback.

The ability to learn from past experiences, proactively think about solutions, and make action plans for future scenarios is an essential skill in a fast-paced sector like cyber security. You will find that reflective practice has, to an extent, already been integrated at workplaces through team debriefs and discussions. However, focusing on your own role not only teaches you accountability, but also agency. You are not only analysing how you contributed to certain situations and outcomes, but also how you can actively change certain factors to achieve a different outcome next time.

How does reflective practice work?

Since reflection is personal, its practice is as well: every individual has different preferences regarding how they work, how they learn, and how to integrate this practice into their lives. The key factors are being intentional, i.e. using a specific framework or structured approach to think about specific incidents or experiences, and dedicating time to reflection on a regular basis.

It is also helpful to keep a record of your process and observations so you can come back to it at any time. For this reason, most people practice reflective writing in combination with a framework to track their thought processes and intentions for future actions. If writing isn’t your style though, you can come up with other ways of remembering your reflective process: you could consider dictating your thoughts to a recording app on your smartphone, draw into a sketchbook or use Post-it notes to retain the information. You’ll only be limited by your own imagination!

Frameworks

There are several different frameworks you can use for reflective practice, depending on your own preference and understanding. We will focus on two of them in this article, but Cambridge University’s website features a comprehensive Reflective Practice Toolkit that lists the most common ones.

One of the simplest and easiest to understand models of reflective practice (referred to either as the Driscoll or Bolton framework) focuses on only three questions: “What? So What? Now What?” It invites you to think about an event or situation, contextualise why it was important and what you learnt, and then asks you to determine how you are going to apply your learning in the future.

Alternatively, at the more complex end of the reflective spectrum, you will find Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle, which includes the questions above, but consists of six separate stages in total (see image below). While encouraging you to describe the event or situation, the model also asks you to investigate your feelings and evaluate the situation as good or bad before moving to the analysis and conclusion stage. Additionally, unlike the previous framework, it asks you to create a concrete action plan that should inform how you act in similar situation in the future.

Due to the emphasis on feelings and evaluation, i.e. referring to aspects of an event as “good” or “bad”, many people shy away from Gibbs’s model because they find it too intrusive and judgmental. However, others feel that strong emotions and perceptions are good indicators that the events which elicited them are worth investigating in greater depth. As humans, we instinctively avoid situations or events we perceive as unpleasant or scary, so working through these experiences by identifying triggers and creating concrete action points can increase our self-confidence and ability to resolve situations more positively.

Timing

You will get more benefits from reflection if you schedule time in more frequently. Some people spend 15 minutes on it every day while others find this too overwhelming. Others dedicate up to half an hour every week or an hour per month. Decide what works for you but bear in mind that the longer you wait to reflect on something, the more likely it is that you may forget some of the key details you need to make your reflection effective.

It is important to schedule quiet time for reflective exercises and eliminate distractions so you can focus on the process. Many employees take time to review their week on a Friday afternoon because it’s often a quiet and convenient time to think about everything that has happened over the past week. Others may choose to sit down at home on a Sunday evening with a cup of tea to conclude their week in reflection.

The way you reflect is completely up to you and the more time you spend on doing it, the easier it’ll get and the more benefits you’ll derive from doing it. Just bear in mind that your personal reflections may not always be transferable directly to a professional context.

Real-Life Example
Aurelia Brzezowska, Chair of our Youth Advisory Panel, and the winner of the National Cyber Awards 2025 Cyber Student of the Year Award, uses reflective practice in different ways as an aspiring cyber professional.
Reflective practice is something I’ve gradually integrated into my cyber journey, and it's made a real difference in how I learn, adapt and grow in the field. Here are a few ways I regularly apply reflective practice:
Incident Analysis
After any kind of incident or breach, whether simulated or real, our team takes time to perform a post-incident analysis. This involves looking at what happened, what went well, what could have been improved and how the situation could have been prevented. These reviews allow for a proactive mindset, even in reactive situations and are key to developing risk-aware approaches in cybersecurity. Reflecting in this way helps me understand not just the technical response, but also the organisational and communication aspects involved.
Call Debriefs
After key meetings or technical calls, I spend a few minutes reflecting on what was discussed. This includes identifying action points, clarifying timelines and flagging any blockers or unanswered questions. These quick debriefs help maintain clarity and momentum, ensuring that the next steps are both understood and achievable. It’s a small habit that makes a big impact in fast-paced environments.
Journaling
Over time, I’ve found journaling to be an incredibly useful tool for personal growth. Whether it’s work-related tasks, self-directed learning or university projects, I keep a weekly log where I track: what I worked on, what went well, what I struggled with, what I could have done differently and what actions I’ll take next. This reflective log helps me identify patterns in my learning and behaviour. It's helped me spot gaps in knowledge, improve time management, and better understand my strengths and weaknesses.
Managerial Evaluations
Regular catch-ups with my manager are an essential part of my development. Every couple of weeks, I set time aside to discuss my progress, get feedback and talk through any challenges I’ve encountered. These conversations help create a space for honest reflection and forward planning. They’ve been key to both my growth in role and my longer-term career planning.

Conclusion

Incorporating reflective practice into your personal and professional life will enable you to consistently identify opportunities for improvement, make you more self-aware and increase your self-confidence. Remember, reflection is not about judging yourself but about filling knowledge and skills gaps as well as knowing what works for you and celebrating your successes!