Let's Begin 2022 with Intentionality – For Yourself & With Your Team

Many of us find ourselves back at it this week after a busy holiday “break.” (Was it really a break?) Like the movie Groundhog Day, you may have woken up with a foreboding sense of deja vu, of performing the same tasks over and over again, and of wondering when it is going to end? (If you didn't, you are one of the lucky ones!)?

In midst of what it seems to be a prolonged, never-ending cycles of covid concerns, parenting under uncertainties, too many priorities, unreasonable expectations, compounded by general lethargy – how do we bring some newness and forward moving energy to our new year?

Intention setting may be a place to look.?

You might be wondering why intentions, not goals. To me, intentions exist at a higher plane consciousness than goals/KPIs.? At a personal level, intentions can help align internal resources, reset orientation, and unearth motivation for each person so that renewed energy can be reactivated for new ventures or for existing tasks (but done differently with renewed perspective)!?

At an organizational level, intention setting can help harvest the collective wisdom and valuable learning of the previous year, align ‘current reality’ so everyone is starting from common ground, and prompt deliberate conversations about what really matters...before the inundation of day-to-day execution. Unlike goal setting, intention setting operates at a higher strategic level that encompasses learnings, achievements, and goal settings – not only outcomes but also how these goals can be achieved together in a more aligned and intentional fashion. This open-ended process encourages frank and organic dialogue while prompting teams to get unstuck from old and unconscious patterns to create a desired future together. As a result, it can be very cathartic and energy giving.??

Here are some questions that can help guide your intention setting session with your team:??

1) When you reflect on 2021, what are the 1-2 things you are mostly proud of? (individually and team)

2) When you reflect on 2021, what are the 1-2 things you would have liked to done (or would where you would have liked to show up) differently? What did you learn from each? ?(individually and team)

3) When you reflect the relationship between effort/productivity and effectiveness/impact, how well do they correlate for you? For your team? For your organization?? (very well if your efforts translated into effectiveness/impact directly; Not very well if you find yourself brute force yet not achieve desired results or impact..)?

4) Strategically, what will 2022 be about for your organization? For your team? For you as a leader? [2021 was a year of XYZ; 2022 will be a year of ABC]

5) What / where would you like to be more intentional in 2022 to continue to drive a bigger impact for your team and your organization??(Perhaps first begin by defining what "impact" means for your org and yourself. This can be qualitative and quantitative.)?

May your year be a fruitful and adventurous one and your days filled with intentional actions!