Spiritual Fitness Toolkit-Critical Incident Analysis
CRITICAL INCIDENT ANALYSIS
We all give great advice and have incredible insight when we look at the circumstances of other people, however when it comes to our own situations, we are incredibly incompetent at advising ourselves. Critical Incident Analysis is a tool that lays out a process for individuals to objectively examine their personal events and separate their thoughts from their feelings. The ability to distance our decisions from our emotions helps us make better choices for our future selves and
Materials/Resources: Paper, Pen/Pencil, (optional) computer
Goals of Critical Incident Analysis:
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To better understand the specific incident
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To better understand yourself as a person and how your emotions/assumptions impact decisions making.
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To better understand the other persons involved in the incident.
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To enhance your decision-making process.
Step 1: Collect Biographical data and Context
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What you know about the characters involved in the incident.
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Background information or experiences that shape the dynamics of the relationship between people involved.
Step 2: Write verbatim in chronological order the sequence of events.
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This should be an objective account of the facts without inserting our thoughts, emotions, or assumptions. Record just the facts.
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Evaluate what happened and why
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What did you try to accomplish during the incident?
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How effective were you?
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How has the event shaped you professionally?
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What are your hunches about what happened?
Step 3: Write what you were thinking in the situation
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Make sure that you are recording things that you are thinking and not emotions you were feeling.
Step 4: Write what you were feeling in the situation
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Write out what the other person(s) might have been feeling.
Step 5: Write out what you could have done better.
Step 6: Write out what you learned about yourself.
Step 7: Write out what you plan to do personally and professionally.