New Year, Better You

Part of the reason a new year is so exciting is that it represents a fresh start full of new opportunities to be better for ourselves, our colleagues, and our loved ones.  

I’m reflecting on how I can grow as a person and a professional in the year ahead, and thought you might be doing the same. Often, personal growth means getting back to basics; so in that spirit, I offer three ABC building blocks to frame your growth journey in 2018:

Ask. Ask yourself difficult, but necessary, questions to get a full and accurate view of who you are as a leader, where your strengths lie, and in which areas you could improve. Did each member of your team succeed? If not, could you have done more to lead by example in being focused, organized, disciplined, energized? As a leader were you attentive, thoughtful, strategic? Reflect, assess, create SMART (specific, measureable, achievable, realistic, timely) goals, then repeat.

Also, ask your team specifically what they need from you to be successful. At Businessolver, for example, our teams have stand-up meetings every morning for 30 minutes to reaffirm our commitment to a weekly theme, set our goals and purpose for the day, and connect. These daily touchpoints give Solvers an opportunity to understand what their teammates are working on, and provide leaders with insight on their employees’ current workload, struggles, and wins. As a leader, it’s important to have these touchpoints with employees to truly understand what you can do to support their success.

Be willing. In our work with workforce development coach Cy Wakeman, one of the great messages we’ve incorporated into our leadership philosophy is to “work with the willing.” Of course, this involves leading employees who are willing, engaged, committed, passionate; but to do so, you also have to be a willing leader. Are you a believer in your organization’s mission, goals, culture? The answer must be yes before you can effectively work with the willing, or anyone else.

Commit. Regardless of the good or bad days you have or the company has, a true leader is 100 percent committed to their role. A positive attitude and can-do spirit will help boost morale, especially during the tough days. This commitment will have your employees feeling more confident in you as a leader and will encourage them to follow your example. Answer the call of stepping up and making a change within yourself for the betterment of your employees and organization.

Looking for other inspiration on leadership?

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