How to smash H2 and wow your boss, in five steps

????Welcome to the latest in my series of how the hotel industry (including all its people, meaning YOU!) can do more to help its commercial people develop and progress.?

More than half the year has gone and with that weird time of school holidays and the August exodus in Southern Europe coming up, you might be thinking, “shit, how am I going to get everything done this year?”

Yes, I know the numbers need to be met, as a minimum.

Yes, I know people are harassing you on a daily basis with “urgent stuff”.

Yes, I know your boss is asking for feedback and updates and excels and decks.?

But you have bigger goals to work on too, and don’t let your personal development goals fall by the wayside. If you’ve been having a tough time at work, questioning if you’re good enough, or if you are trying really hard to prove yourself and get that promotion, you need to take control and work consciously.?

Yet again you may be realising that you don’t, in fact, have all the time in the world. Don’t let H2 slip through your fingers.

Fast forward to December.?

If everything continues in exactly the same way, will you be happy with how the year has turned out? Will you be confident that you’ve done enough to get that good review, pay rise or promotion? Will you be grateful to your past self for making the right decisions?

It’s time to get intentional.?

Use this checkpoint as a moment to consider if you are moving in the right direction at the right pace. And if you need a bit of help with steering the ship, read on for five areas to review so you can smash the second half of the year.?

Check in on your KPIs, goals and priorities for the year

You might be thinking “thanks Captain Obvious” but from personal experience I can tell you that day-to-day urgent things can take over your brain and you may not even remember what your bigger goals are. Or you look at them once a month, feel overwhelmed and close the page.

Turn off your emails and phone, take a deep breath and open up your goals for the year.?

Think critically about each one and if you have made 50% of the progress that you hoped to make this year.?

• Where have you been successful?
• Where has it been more difficult, and why?
• If you continue like this, will you meet your goals by the end of the year?
• What needs to change? What support do you need?
• How will you hold yourself accountable?

Of the 20% of people who set goals, 70% do not achieve them. Get yourself into the 30%.?

Review your personal development plan

(I just found out that 66% of people have NO personal development plan, yikes! That’s a topic for another time).?

This isn’t a nice-to-have. If you don’t know where you want to go next, what your gaps are and how you will work on them, no one else is going to help you.?

Same questions as above, in three key areas:

• Technical skills such as systems, reporting, market knowledge
• Soft skills such as negotiation, influence, managing upwards
• Building your network both inside and outside the company

Reflect on feedback

Sometimes we can have a blind spot and think we are doing fine, or that something didn’t matter much anyway.?

It’s always good to get a sense check from those who matter around you.?

• Your boss: hopefully you’ve had a H1 review, if not then think back to your 1:1s. Have they repeatedly asked about a specific project where you are falling behind for example? Have they said they would like to see more of something? (If you don’t have 1:1s with your boss or they don’t give you feedback, time to find a new job).?
• Stakeholders: touch base with people in other departments that you work closely with. Are you doing what needs to be done for the greater good of the company? Take this with a pinch of salt though and don’t let their priorities become your priorities.
• Your team: if you manage people, having an open discussion about progress on your projects and KPIs can be a great way to discover obstacles you didn’t know existed, and get ideas on how to move faster on the team goals.

Reset your boundaries

This gets into the actual DOING of the things. Don’t get stuck with a lot of new information and no time to implement it!

• Check your calendar for unnecessary meetings and get rid of what you can. Recurring meetings that have been in the calendar for more than 6 months: do you still need it? Meetings with more than 5 people: do you need to be in it??
• Block time in your calendar to include the priorities you have defined and keep this promise to yourself. If you don’t make the time, other people will steal the time, and you can’t achieve big goals in the 20 minutes between meetings.?
• If you get a lot of emails, consider setting up a filter to put emails where you are in copy (not the ‘to’ line) in a separate folder you check once a day. If people need you urgently, they can write you a direct email, or ping you on Slack, or WhatsApp you…
• On that note, turn off all your notifications everywhere (except perhaps for actual phone calls). You lose 10 IQ points just by knowing you have an unread email or message. Don’t do yourself this disservice! You know that you will go back to your inbox or phone at some point soon anyway.

Consider how you will celebrate your successes?

We are simple creatures. We need positive reinforcement.?

There are a lot of suggestions above, and if you implement half of them you should see progress on your goals in H2. Our commercial jobs can be relentless, and it can’t all be PUSH PUSH PUSH, so take time to reflect every few weeks.?

Don’t forget to congratulate yourself with a pat on the back, or a glass of wine, or a manicure, or a hot dog or whatever floats your boat.???

Can’t wait to see how the second half of your year turns out!

Remember, we don’t have endless time to achieve what we want to do, so take control of the second half of 2024 and be ruthless in the pursuit of your goals. Let’s start 2025 on a high and feeling proud.?

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If you want some support, like, now! Then set up a free discovery call with me here .

Want to feel bold, brilliant and ready for the next step in your career? My group coaching program “Check In, Upgrade” launches on 28th September, meaning by December you will be set up for success in 2025. Reach out to me with any questions.?

P.S. This client knew what they wanted to do, but kept getting stuck on taking action on his goals. In three sessions, we worked together to come up with tools for him to decide where to start, take action, and be kinder on himself. And he since got a promotion at work!