Setting Priorities for the Year

It’s time to identify your key priorities for the coming year.  With so many options, so much change and a mounting number of challenges, where does a person start?

 

My best advice says to start by making a list of all your significant challenges and opportunities.  I bet you can do this in less than 15 minutes and it will be the best spent time between now and the new year. 

 

 

The key here is to really think about this.  Consider more than surface level problems and what seems to be obvious opportunities.  Get to what is behind or underneath problems.  See if you can identify a trend that allows you to catch the wave early.  Ask yourself, “How do I know for sure what I think to be the case? Are my decisions and strategies based on fact or assumptions?  What is the trend I’ve experienced or noticed and how can I/we get ahead of the curve?”

 

As you reflect on your answers, pinpoint the one or two (at most) opportunities, that when acted on strategically and purposefully, will make the biggest impact on your life or business.  Figure out what that one key thing is that most needs your attention.  My guess is that it will be a behaviour.  A behaviour of yours that needs to change, or a behaviour that is predominant throughout your organizational culture or family.  Figure out what that is, change it and reap the rewards.

 

I probably don’t need to remind you of the definition of insanity:  doing the same thing and expecting different results.  What different results are you intending for?  Is it more work/life balance?  Building a highly engaged team?  Becoming a dynamic leader?  Improving your ability to retain top performers?  Increasing income?  What ever it is, create new habits for success.

 

Once you have pinpointed the one or two key results you want, identify the behavioural change that will be required in order to achieve your goal.  Then focus on creating that change like a dog with a bone – or should I say, like Santa and his reindeer intent on accomplishing their mission.  Focus, focus, focus.  Communicate, deliver.  Communicate, deliver….

 

Back to the earlier point about facts and assumptions.  If you haven’t tested your assumptions, do so before you decide to act on your key initiative. 

 

If your change initiative involves people (how can it not), make sure you understand their reality.  Do you know what they are thinking?  Do you truly understand the drivers behind current behaviours?  Have you identified what most motivates them?

 

If not, I suggest you start by getting some feedback.  For best results, use an objective process and tool to gather your information.  Survey your team or entire organization and look for feedback that confirms and displaces your assumptions.  In my experience, most organizational surveys produce results that surprise owners and managers and increase awareness of problems and opportunities not previously identified.  Invest in knowledge.  If you focus on the wrong problem, you will have not only lost an opportunity, but squandered your time and resources.

 

If your change initiative starts with you and your own behaviours, chances are you’ll come out on top no matter what.  No matter where we are in an organizational hierarchy or on our journey called “life”, increased self awareness always leads to change – change in perspectives, change in choices, change in behaviours.  This holds true for all, but is especially so for senior leaders and owners who have greater opportunities to build and influence relationships.  Nevertheless, there are ample opportunities to assess your impact at a personal level as well.

 

The Wright Group team offers numerous options for gathering feedback.  These range from conducting self-managed individual performance assessments, to providing 360 Degree Feedback surveys, to efficiently orchestrating an entire organizational-wide survey process.  If you aren’t regularly utilizing all of these tools, and/or don’t know how or where to start, let us help you get on the right track. 

 

Once you are equipped with reliable knowledge, it’s time to solidify your priorities, craft your strategies and put them into action.  Resist the temptation to focus on too many things.  Strive to identify a key strength you can leverage. 

 

If you’ve identified your biggest opportunities, you’ll want to consistently apply your focus and resources there until you see real change.  Until the change is evident, develop your key messages and stay on message.

 

Look for every opportunity to catch yourself and others engaging in the desired behaviour or behaviours and quickly and passionately recognize and reward.  (If you would like some ideas about how to do this in a very profound way, I’ll be happy to share some ideas with you.  Just give me a call.)

 

Finally, make sure that once you’ve pinpointed the results you want, training and performance appraisals systems are realigned to match up.  More importantly, make sure you are modeling the behaviour you desire.  If your behaviour isn’t in alignment, others won’t realign theirs – and if they do, they won’t last.

 

Aligning training and performance appraisals requires getting clear on how you will measure performance, communicate progress and provide feedback.  Don’t make the mistake of forgetting to regularly communicate progress in a meaningful manner.  This is absolutely a critical ingredient for achieving your top priorities.  Do everything else but leave this step out and you’ll likely miss the target.

 

All the steps outlined above may sound like a lot of work.  It doesn’t have to be.  If it takes a great deal of effort, you probably need it more than ever.  Consider the alternative – missing the biggest opportunity available to you.  This holds true whether the focus is on business or self or both.

 

If you are ready to make this year your best year ever, don’t try to achieve that alone.  Find a partner to help you reach your goals.  That is what leadership coaches do best – that is what The Wright Group does best.

 

With that, stay well, healthy and active as you embrace the key opportunities waiting for you in the future.