As Christmas is the busiest time of year for a vicar, new year is the busiest time for a coach like me. It’s peak annual kick-off, objective-setting, lessons learnt, where are we going, what do we want, reboot, state of the nation (don’t go there) reflection and prioritisation time. Nirvana.
And who doesn’t want to put 2020 firmly in the rear view mirror?
I’ve written a lot about getting the most out of virtual working; I already had a global practice so could hit the ground running, albeit in a tangle of ethernet cables. But I miss shaking hands and checking out shoes and I never want to hear the word ‘pivot’ again.
There were some silver-linings. We have loved our neighbours, clapped our carers, treasured our teachers and nurtured our support bubbles. We’ve dug deep to find resourcefulness, kindness and creativity. Now let’s move on, taking that good stuff with us.
How are you going to make the best of 2021?
Here’s three questions to frame your ideas:
1. How will you rebuild relationships? Virtual working is a sequence of contrived conversations. It has kept the wheels turning. But ad hoc chats, even distracting ones, are the heartbeat of office life and knowledge sharing. We’ve missed them. Can you start to re-establish relationships? Where do you need to build extra trust?
Pick half a dozen important people and figure out the best way to reconnect and deepen the relationship. What are they working on? What’s important to them? Do they know what’s important to you? How can you boost collaboration? How can you best work together going forward?
2. How are you going to run your year? Think about what you want the rhythm of your week to look like. What are your priorities and what’s the best time and place for getting them done? Finally, the penny has dropped that output should be measured, not presenteeism. ‘Work’ is an activity, not a place; we’ve been saying that for years. Now we’ve proved it, we can get together in our physical space to talk and brainstorm, then separate to get our work done with less interruption.
Structure your week around any healthy new habits or routines acquired from home working. If you’ve been more productive at home how will you keep it up? Talk to your colleagues about the most efficient way of working together in future. Include leaner use of meeting schedules and email: you should be able to cut back on these notorious productivity hijackers if you are face to face at least part of the week. If not, why not?
3. If you look back on 2021 and it’s been a resounding success, what will you have achieved? This is a great question for your January strategy meeting. It also clarifies objectives if you are onboarding:‘if you look back in a year and I’m the best hire you’ve made, what will I have achieved?’
Can you upgrade your answer? Aim a bit higher? What do you need to dial up in order to achieve this: skills, confidence, new habits, leadership capability? What should your priorities be and how will you find time to do them?
And best of all, what can you leave behind in 2020? What habits or working practices or communication styles could hold you back? How will you change?
If you want to be robustly challenged on any of these areas, I’d be delighted to book an individual or team coaching session with you.
Stay safe everyone
Zena