Let’s jump-start those New Year’s resolutions!
Ugh…you know the holidays are coming to a close when weight loss companies start reminding you that it’s time to do something about all the holiday treats you’ve been grazing on for the last month.
The data is clear…resolutions don’t last, usually falling to the wayside by the end of January.
That being said, January represents a new beginning of sorts…an opportunity to reset. We get to start over.
Every year I take off the week between Christmas and New Year’s to reflect on the last year and create a map for the next. For example, some of the journaling questions include:
- What were some of the significant events of the last year? What did I learn about myself?
- What did I accomplish in the last year? To what can I attribute achieving these accomplishments?
- What challenges did I experience? How did I overcome them?
- What do I want to leave behind? What do I want to take into the next year?
As I create intentions for the next year…
- Goals: What do I want to do?
- Purpose: What is the impact for others?
- Meaning: Why do I want to do it?
As I answer these questions, I do it through the lens of my longer-term vision; how do they align with my priorities? My values? My strengths?
For the last several years, I have used a great resource that digs into these questions and more. It’s free…click here to access it.
There’s a grounding that occurs as I work through this process. I can anchor to what I’ve learned and decide what I’m going to do about it.
So, what did I learn about myself? Here are some highlights:
- I often prioritized work over life. Easy to justify…hard to change.
- I’m WAY more resilient than I thought I was. Moving. Forward.
- When I’m stressed, I over-think and over-engineer. Think: hamster wheel.
What am I’m going to do about it in 2024?
- Schedule more fun. When it’s on the calendar, it gets done.
- Lean into my ability to be resilient when unexpected challenges show up. Because they will.
- Notice when I’m over-doing, then take a deep breath…
So, what does this have to do with leadership?
As leaders, we can guide our team through a similar process. Take another look at the questions I share above and replace the word ‘I’ with ‘you’ or ‘we.’
It’s that simple, AND it isn’t necessarily easy.
This kind of work requires the team to really look at themselves, as individuals and as a collective team. Yet, when we include the team in the process, we create engagement, buy-in, and accountability.
Here are a few tips to make the most of the exercise:
Share your vision and mission. This is your team’s ‘why.’ As a leader, it’s your job to connect your team’s goals to the overall goals of the organization.
More and more, we hear how important PURPOSE and MEANING is to our team members. What does our work MEAN in the larger context? How does what we do impact our customers, both internally and externally?
Foosball tables and fancy snacks no longer cut it, AND purpose and meaning MEAN something different to each team member. Again, what are their priorities? Values? Strengths?
As a leader, you need to find out. Which leads to…
Reimagine your 1:1 meetings. Aspire to an 80/20 ratio; spend 20% of the meeting time on status updates, and 80% on building the relationship.
I know…that seems like a lot of time NOT talking about their work updates. Trust me…there’s another way to get this information besides using valuable time during these important connection touch points.
Pro tip: lean into curiosity:
- What’s working well?
- What’s not working well?
- What support do you need to overcome any challenges?
- What’s important to you?
- What gives you energy? What drains you?
- What ONE THING would make your work more fulfilling?
Final question for YOU: how would you feel if YOUR leader asked you questions like these?
And because these are not ‘one and done’ activities…
Rinse and repeat. Keep your vision and mission statements as the ‘north stars’ that propel your team toward their goals AND keep nurturing your relationships with them.
These activities will help to create purpose and engagement, where team members feel heard and included in their team’s success.
Creating this level of engagement with each team member creates trust and psychological safety…and team members who become willing to share their ideas, whether they’re implemented or not.
So…think of January as your opportunity to reset your leadership impact. Take it.