As a leader, you’re always “on”, whether you want to be or not. Sometimes it seems like everyone is observing your actions and making judgments. And, of course, these judgments are usually made out of context, without full information.
This comes with the leadership territory and as such people want to see confidence, decisiveness, and consistency in their leaders.
Two months of the year have whooshed away and before too much more time passes, it’s worth taking time to look at what you’ve accomplished so far this year.
Are you on track? Are you pacing the way you expected late last year when you finalized your plan for 2023? What has changed and how are you accommodating those changes?
CEOs who aspire to spectacular growth have expectations of nothing short of exceptional results from their leaders. They rally these leaders with optimistic views of the future and eyes on the rewards that will be given for achieving KPIs and other metrics.
Strong leaders take the nod and push their departments forward with similar focus. The drive for growth is pushed down through the organization where outstanding results are expected consistently.
Last time we looked at what worked and what didn’t work for you in 2022. Today we’re previewing the new year with a focus on refreshing your mindset.
The end and beginning of the year are typical times that people think in terms of a fresh start. To have a successful fresh start, you will benefit by rebooting your mindset.
This month has continued the trend of busy Decembers. Everyone seems to have been going full steam since the beginning of the month and many have frantically tried to get twice the work done in half the time.
Once again, time management reigns.
Sometimes you need to make an announcement or take an action that will likely cause discomfort. Leaders who recognize this in advance can shape the message by foreshadowing empathy.
This means that although the impact of the bad news may be hard, you understand its effect and are standing in the shoes of the people receiving the message.
How often do you hear those words in the workplace? Not as frequently as you’d like, I imagine. Instead, often, you probably hear either silence or those career-limiting words, “it’s not my job.”
People who are eager to help and take on new responsibilities are primed to advance in your company. They don’t think about whether it’s what they were hired to do; rather, they see these situations as opportunities to learn and grow in their jobs.
No one likes to fire an employee. It’s uncomfortable – even distressing – depending on the circumstances. But it’s one of the realities of managing. In fact, the rest of your staff will take note of how you handle it.
The key to dealing with a prospective termination is to be brutally honest about the situation. Objectively assess the person’s performance and determine if the situation can be salvaged. In some cases, the employee may not have been trained properly; in others she may have floundered due to bad (or no) management.
To set and attain goals is an important process for nearly all high-achieving leaders. Whether you go through a formal process to set and monitor goals, or informally record your aspirations, the desired outcome is the same.
People typically identify tasks or activities as the stepping stones for goal achievement. For example, if you want to achieve a certain revenue number in your department, you can divide that number among your employees resulting in a goal of x dollars per employee.
The OMICRON variant of COVID is hitting different parts of the country in waves. New York City, for example, has suffered quite a bit as the level of contagion has been higher and more aggressive than previous waves of the virus.
To illustrate, at the end of December a third of the New York City Fire Department was out on leave because of the volume of people who had contracted the virus.