I am really getting excited about what’s to come in the new year and want to share with you a little about what I have been doing in my business to prepare for a great 2022. I've been
Reviewing the past year and reflecting
Detailing my goals
Updating my business and marketing plans which include true measurements of success each quarter in order to make sure I stay headed in the right direction
I have committed to surrounding myself with individuals who will help to keep me on track; the ones who know where my weaknesses are and where I could go off course, and aren’t afraid to give me a gentle nudge when I need it
And, of course, I have my visuals in place
Since we are coming to the end of the year - which has been unlike any other, yet again, this is the time to take a step back, to reflect, and to prepare to start the year off strong. It is so helpful and rewarding to look back at my accomplishments and milestones… thinking about the lessons, wins, challenges, and celebrations.
In reflecting on the past year on a professional level, many of us have been noticing greater challenges for the workforce in general, as well as brand new challenges for leadership teams and managers. Managers are struggling to shift their thinking, come up with new methods in order to motivate a younger workforce and to accommodate changes related to the pandemic. Things are totally different for all of us, that’s a fact.
Now more than ever we have a clash of generations, and what motivates a 60+ individual is entirely different from what motivates a gen X or a millennial. When I am working with an organization, some of my coaching tips are to
Find ways to know your team better
Encourage your employees to be honest and to share what they think is important
Understand what truly motivates them. What makes them get out of bed and be excited to come to work?
As a leader, you must first know who your team/workforce is. So how do you do that? It’s actually quite fun in my opinion! (Remember my May post about incorporating fun?) I’ve always prided myself on staying in touch with my team, which I’ve accomplished through a variety of tools. There has been ‘chat time’ with Luanne, ‘teatime’ with Luanne, I’ve had ‘skip level’ (level below the level below) lunches, etc… I’ve structured these information exchange sessions multiple ways.
Here are a few words of advice… let’s say for instance that you’re meeting with your front end team i.e. mailroom employees, support staff, etc., and because you want to make sure that they feel comfortable enough to give honest feedback, I would suggest having a two-on-one exchange rather than one-on-one, making sure that the employee has a peer to come to the meeting with. This also helps to foster a new sort of bond or commonality and, in the case of larger organizations, it is possible that they would never have met if you didn’t have an ‘information exchange session’ with them. If you know exactly what is going on or what needs to be addressed in an organization, you can anticipate issues and make adjustments before they become bigger issues. And, on the flip side, you may find that certain workflows are working like a charm and are good models for how to enhance or grow in other areas.
When I am working with an organization, as a way to help bring out the best, honest discussions and insight about what was important to the team/organization, I will have a set of four or five questions to sort of get the ball rolling, calm any nervousness or shyness, and open the lines of communication. I might ask simple questions such as
If you were me for a day what’s the one thing that you would change?
If you were me for a day what’s the one thing that you would continue to do?
If you were me for one day what’s the one thing you think I really should know about X?
Do you see where I’m going with this?
But again, I would only have four or five questions because it really is about providing an opportunity to speak up freely. And if you are having sessions with multiple employees, the questions should be consistent every time. When you are meeting with people for these information exchange sessions, it doesn’t take long for others to figure out what questions are going to be asked and that’s when the fun really begins!
Now, if I am meeting with managers I always do that one-on-one. You have a different level coming in with different expectations and I have found that managers or leaders of others feel more comfortable when they have one-on-one time. But the questions to them should be very similar. By keeping questions the same you have a better way of gauging the consistency of the information.
The beautiful thing about asking these types of questions is that they help you stay in tune with your organization and allow the team to feel heard and valued - which is what everyone wants, don’t you?
When I show my team that I respect their opinion and by listening to feedback from the people performing the work, it has actually made my job so much easier…
When I wrote my book, The 110 Philosophy, I wanted to simply help others - I didn’t do it for the money. The book has already exceeded any expectations I had originally set which was to help 110 individuals and have the book in Australia in my lifetime. All those goals were blown away within the first 60 days. Perhaps I should’ve set my goals higher… but again that wasn’t my intention - my intention was simply to help inspiring leaders bring out the best in others, and to make this world a little happier.
I’m confident I’ll achieve my goals if I set my mind to them, and I am ready to help you achieve yours! If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you already know that my key goal is to share information with you to help you focus and succeed. If you are new to the 110 Philosophy blog, welcome!
One of my goals in 2022 for 110 Philosophy is to dig a little deeper into the tangible tools that are within the book and share them with you. I want to help you with your goals so be watching for January’s blog when we talk about developing your vision and if you haven't already, grab the book! It also makes a great gift.
Happy New Year,
Luanne
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