For many of us, December comes and goes in the blink of an eye. Between the sugar rushes of holiday treats and the vacations that go too fast, this month of celebration quickly turns into the month of New Year’s resolutions and challenges for the new year.
But before you and your organization start focusing on goals for 2023, pause for some time for reflection, celebration, and overall taking stock within your team; both as individuals and as an organization.
Here are a few tips to begin this timely process:
- Reserve time (even if it is in January) for conversations with your team.
- Start with the individual team member. Ask each person:
o What are you most proud of in your work this year?
o Which project or initiative did you most enjoy?
o How did you push the boundaries of your comfort zone?
o What are you most looking forward to in the coming year? - As a team, consider the following questions together:
o What were your team or organization’s greatest successes this year? Were they anticipated, or were any of them an unexpected, yet nice surprise?
o What did you do to celebrate these successes (if the answer is “not much” – there’s still time!)?
o Did your organization miss the mark in certain areas? If yes, spend some time considering why.
Be sure to capture and record the key take-aways from these conversations, because it is these lessons that lay the foundation for next year’s goals.
So, by all means, schedule a time for next steps, but maybe more importantly, CELEBRATE all that you have accomplished as individuals and as a team.
Enjoy those sweet treats and come back in January energized and excited about all that you have done and all that you plan to do.
Keep an eye out in January to read my Working Wonders colleague, Nanette Fridman’s piece about goal setting for the new year!
