It’s that time of year again.
Reflecting on your successes for the year and how that compared to what you set out to do. I bet you crushed your business goals! That’s awesome, and you deserve to celebrate. For many, that celebration is layered with a little bit of disappointment as you consider not just what you wanted to achieve, but what you hoped to be this year. Patient? Loving? Kind? Creative? Inspirational? Balanced? The list of what we want to be tends to be more private. It’s not written into the business goals. Therefore, no one is holding us accountable. And it tends to be hard. I mean, really hard. Evolving who we are does not require a drive to succeed but instead it requires a consistent and steady commitment to change habits.
In a couple of weeks the gyms will be incredibly crowded, as people lace up their new shiny white sneakers and start their new wellness habits. You’ll be hard pressed to find a spot on that treadmill between the hours of 4pm – 7pm. By April 1st the gym will have cleared out. Who will remain? Those who pushed past the “gym intentions” and transformed it into “gym habit.” Everyone knows exercise matters. But, habits are tough to create and even tougher to break.
So, as you think about this year ahead, what kind of leader do you want to be? How do you want to connect, inspire and motivate your team to achieve more than they thought possible? And what habits are you willing to commit to creating in order to be that leader?
Here are 4 simple yet impactful leadership habits for your leadership New Year’s Resolutions. The simplicity of them is obvious. The impact of them is exponentially greater than the time invested in them. Let this be your leadership year and see how these new habits transform your work relationships, influence, and ability to develop, motivate and inspire your team.
Habit #1: LBWA [Leadership By Walking Around]
You know those times you have that awkward 10 – 20 minutes between your back to back meetings? It’s not enough to dive into a project. You might be able to respond to a few emails. Nothing that matters that much. Once a day when you have this time (and if you don’t have it, schedule it in your calendar daily) rather than hiding behind your computer, walk around. Walk by the area where you’ll find your team, your key stakeholders, and other employees you are connected to. Just be there. Visible. Approachable. Engaging. Casual. Open. You’ll be amazed at the value that these informal and unplanned conversations can bring. Those quick questions you can answer, those quick moments of feedback and recognition (see Habit #3), opportunity to offer a suggestion or a gold nugget of wisdom. Even just a “how was your weekend” conversation can pay off in spades throughout the week and year.
Action – Block 15 minutes in your calendar per day (vary the time) for LBWA. Do it!
Habit #2: One-on-One Meetings
Stop canceling them. Stop saying you don’t have the time. When done right, this will be the most important meeting you have all week with your employee. Even if you sit side by side with your employee all day long, you still need a One-on-One. That uninterrupted time with your employee to focus on his or her needs is critical. The opportunity to give any direction or support needed, reflect on progress, coach and mentor, hear about successes, analyze failures. One-on-Ones lend themselves to deeper and more vulnerable conversations that just don’t happen in everyday chats. Trust me, if you invest the time for connecting One-on-One regularly, you will save so much more time in your week as a result.
Action – Schedule regularly occurring weekly or bi-weekly One-on-One meetings with each of your employees. Adjust them as needed due to conflicts, but do not cancel. Ask and expect them to come with their agenda of what they need from you during that time.
Habit #3: Feedback & Appreciation
Even the top employees need feedback. Offer it up, regularly. Specific feedback that helps employees know what to stop, start, and continue. So many employees complain that they operate under “no news is good news.” That’s not leadership. How can you give feedback and perspective on what the employee is doing and how s/he is doing it? Additionally, in a world where companies are fighting for top talent, how easy will it be for another company to snag your employee who doesn’t feel valued or appreciated? Express it in a meaningful way – what is this employee doing that you appreciate so much, and most importantly, what is the impact?
Action – Make a list of each of your employees, write three X’s and one O by each of their names. For each positive/appreciation feedback given that week, cross off an X. For each constructive feedback you offer, cross off the O. Once you’ve accomplished this weekly consistently, increase the X’s and O’s you expect of yourself each week.
Habit #4: Quarterly Check-ins
The annual performance review process can be a little overwhelming and intimidating. You know what alleviates that pressure? At the end of each quarter, reformat your regular One-on-One as a quarterly check-in. Consider it a mini-performance review conversation where you reflect year-to-date and ensure alignment and a solid go forward plan. Quarterly check-ins allow a deeper reflection on overall progress to goals, and catching any issues before they bubble up to bigger issues down the road. You’ll find this process extremely rewarding to ensure you and your employee are completely aligned.
Action – Schedule a 1-hour quarterly check-in with each of your employees for the year. In these meetings discuss, 1) Progress on goals and review of goals (updates/changes needed), 2) Development/growth (what new skills is s/he learning or need to learn), and 3) Overall engagement – how is s/he feeling about his/her level of empowerment/autonomy, the degree to which his/her skills are being utilized, and the impact s/he is having?
You know that setting the time for these connections with your team matters. Yet even in their simplicity they can be so difficult to put into consistent action. You’ll notice they all require a checklist or a calendar as it’s the best way to build a habit until it’s second nature. So, as you think about this year and how you crushed your business goals, how much easier would it be to achieve those goals in the new year if you created these 4 leadership habits? At the end of the day, it is your people who determine if the business goals are met. Your leadership habits are the catalyst to engage and ignite their potential.