HOW DID YOU DO THIS YEAR?

It’s that time of year when we get a clear view of how the year will turn out.  There is still much business to do, but the planning is complete, and the decisions made.  You can begin assessing how your organization performed.

One more question, how did YOU do this year?  As the organization’s leader, how well did you lead, manage, align, and motivate?  Most importantly, this is the time, as you are planning for next year, to consider what YOU might have done better and where you might need to improve.

Here are four questions for your evaluation:

Did you cheerlead without changing?  As the leader, did you stay out in front of the organization, consistently pointing the way, and encouraging them to follow?  Or did you take the approach that you told them and they should ask if they had any questions?  Or did you get so involved in ideas for next year that you interrupted the team working on this year’s goals?  Worse, did your SOS (shiny object syndrome) cause them to focus on future potentials other than accomplishing the goals for this year.  Were you a leader or a distraction?

Did you hold your team accountable without accounting for them?  Did you manage your team (yes, leaders have to do both leadership AND management)?  Did you set clearly defined outcomes and measurements, track the measures, and hold them responsible for the results?  Or were your goals so indistinct they left wiggle room, or worse were subject to interpretation?  Or did you jump in to “help” them get their jobs done, instead of providing instruction?  Were you a leader or a fixer?

Did you teach your values or ignore them?  As you spoke to your team, did you compliment them for actions that adhered to your company values, and did you punish them for activities that conflicted with them?  Or did you accept that the end justifies the means?  Did you highlight positives in company communications (e.g., meetings, newsletters, emails) being sure to point out how each positive is a result or reflection of the company values?  Values are crucial to alignment and achieving Collin’s flywheel.  And if you didn’t, call it what it is.  You ignored them.  And if you did, so did they.  Were you a leader or an anarchist?

Did you lead, or concede?  Think about your evaluation of yourself.  Your organization will only go as far as you direct it.  And you cannot delegate leadership.  Were you a leader or a loiterer?

If you could have done better, or more importantly, want to do better, a coach can help.  Some clients have asked me, how can you know my business better than I do.  The answer is simple, I can’t and I won’t.  You see coaches don’t do things for you; they help you do your job better.

If you are considering working with a coach, contact us at Closing Strong.  We are not academics only, in many cases we’ve done your job.  We understand.

Blessings,

Keith