The All Important Debrief

When military pilots go on a mission they aren't done until they hold a post mission debrief. It is just as important as any other part of the mission. It may seem a bit odd to put such emphasis on a meeting to discuss what happened on the flight. Especially since everyone there was involved with it and already knows what happened.

It is critically important though. Not for the mission that was just completed, but for future missions and the pilot and crew's development. It holds valuable concepts that we can apply in our own lives.

1. The debrief solidifies what happened on the mission. The past is only as real as the narrative that we have built in in our minds. Talking about what happened allows other people’s perspectives to be folded into our own and gives us a fuller picture. Also, describing it out loud helps strengthen the memory.

2. The debrief presents a forum for disagreements to be resolved. Not everyone has the same perspective and sometimes that translates to conflicting views. Just because you think something went swimmingly doesn't mean someone else saw problems. Dealing with those issues right away prevents future miscommunication and unmet expectations.

3. The debrief fosters a focus on lessons learned. When something doesn't go as planned having a sit down discussion on what happened and how to fix it allows everyone involved to get better. It helps prevent avoidable mistakes and issues in the future.

If we made a habit of having debriefs after fights or other meaningful events, maybe even in the evening every day it could make a significant difference in how we deal with things over time.

You can't make meaningful change if you don't see the effects of your actions. Are they working? Should they be changed? Even if the things you are doing to improve your life are working, if you don't take stock of where you are vs where you were it is easy to get discouraged.

Do you ever do debriefs?