We love the beginning of a new year. The holidays present a welcome break to rest and reflect, followed by the opportunity to embrace new habits, workflows and attention items as you start a new calendar.
As leaders, we are at our best when we’re improving and optimizing. But, to do that strategically and effectively, we need to first reflect upon how things are. And, reflection requires space and time.
As you break for the holidays, reflect upon the following questions:
- What has been going well with our team?
- Are there certain people on the team who are thriving in their current roles? Why are they thriving?
- Are there people on the team who are struggling in their current roles? Why are they struggling?
- Think about each system or tool your team uses. Are people generally happy or generally frustrated with it?
- What have been our most significant victories or celebrations this year? How do we replicate those in the next year?
- What have been our biggest misses in the past year? How do we avoid those?
- How is our employee morale? What has been most impactful in improving morale? What has been the most impactful in decreasing morale?
- How is our communication to employees and customers? Where are we succeeding? Where can we grow?
As you reflect on the past year, identify 1-3 opportunities for improvement, without losing focus of the places where you’re successful. Recognizing what endeavors are successful may give you insight into how to address your weaknesses most effectively.
We work with business and human resources leaders to help them fully engage their team and communicate more effectively. A great place to start is with our HR Guide to Communication, which you can download for free here.