Top 7 Things to Remember in the New Year

The beginning of the new year provides not only the opportunity to reflect on last year achievements, but to get pumped up for what lies ahead. Since this is my first foray into the blogging world in 2017, I want to thank you for your support and engagement over the past several months.

As we begin another year, I thought it would make sense to reflect on some of my previous posts as a way to help set leadership goals. When setting your goals for 2017, think about how you want to lead and collaborate with team members in the coming months. Here are some leadership tips to help you have the most productive and positive year yet:

1. Be authentic. This is simple. Be honest and straightforward. Don’t ask of others what you are not willing to do yourself. In doing so, you will build a foundation of respect and honesty with and within your team, allowing for greater loyalty and productivity.
2. Be accountable. Take responsibility for every step on the path to achieving the task at hand and embrace and accept the outcomes of these decisions - whatever they may be. By doing this, you will develop an unparalleled trust with and among your team - they will know you mean what you say, that you have their back and that you can be trusted.
3. Don’t get stuck under the squeaky wheel. We tend to spend a lot of time focused on the employee who makes the most noise and proves to be most difficult. Instead, start focusing your energy on those who demonstrate the desire and ability to contribute to your organization.
4. Improvise - all of the time. Much of your success will come from your ability to be flexible and improvise when it comes to your business. How you embrace change and capitalize on new realities effecting your business can make all the difference in the work you do.
5. Play with others and get outside of your own backyard. You never know where you will find the next best idea. Take time to go and learn from others outside your sector. While industries outside your own might operate on a different scale than your company and there will certainly be aspects of their business that will not apply to your work, there is still a tremendous amount of knowledge to be gained from them. We can learn from their systems, their culture, their processes and their leadership style.
6. Work as a team. Managers who work collectively with fellow team members to identify a change or goal, then create and execute a plan to work through the change or achieve that goal, are the ones who will be successful. The reality is that in today’s workplace, you can have fantastic ideas and innovative strategies to grow your business and lead your market…but if you don’t have dedicated team members that are invested in its execution, you won’t get where you want to go.
7. Focus on being sustainable. The world is rapidly changing and so is business. In order to survive and thrive, focus your energy on swimming with the tide. Figure out how to maximize your strengths and the work you do in relation to what is happening in the world around you.

And so, as you begin the year, I encourage you to take some time to map out your leadership strategy. Spending a few minutes now to think about how you want to lead, will pay off big in the months ahead.