??No Regrets in 2024??

Ever start the year with New Year’s resolutions—then lose momentum by the second week of January?

Yes? Same! ??

Instead of more ‘resolutions’ that you’ll only regret making, let’s help you focus on creating ‘transformation’ in 2024…a focus on becoming a more intentional, balanced, WHOLE leader.

It’s not just about this year either.

Your commitment to growing yourself as a leader will affect your whole life. And it will enable you to look back and say: “I have no regrets this year.” Don’t we all want that?!

Keep scrolling to see my “2024 Whole Leader” discovery and planning exercise that will help you start the year off strong!

I’ve met leaders who climb the corporate ladder—only to look back and find the cost of getting there was much greater than they realized.

They didn’t invest time:

• with family
• in their health
• in their team members’ growth
• and more!!

I had one leader in particular tell me that he never had an uninterrupted vacation with his family!

Another client worked so many hours and so hard to further her career, only to find she’d missed too much time with her children. Now, she wanted to correct that mistake by investing more time with her grandchildren.

The good news is: It doesn’t have to be this way.

And 2024 can be the start of the transformation. Make 2024 a new beginning for yourself as a WHOLE leader.

To do this exercise, I encourage you to invest some quiet time to think about, and then write your answers to the prompts in the 2024 Whole Leader exercise below–to help you gain clarity and become more intentional.

2024 ‘Whole Leader’ Exercise

Step 1: “Begin with the end in mind.”

…As Stephen R. Covey suggests in his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

Take the time to think about and create a vision for your long-term legacy.

• What influence / impact do you want to leave behind for those in your circle—both personally and professionally?

• Who do you want to be, what do you want to do, what do you want to have, and what ultimately do you want to contribute?

As a leader, the urgent fire fighting of the day-to-day should not dictate where you invest your time, attention and energy. Your purpose and priorities should be coming from a much deeper place. Give yourself the gift of getting clear on what you really want to create long term.

Step 2: Identify where you are today.

Think about each of the following areas of life and work, and determine how fulfilled / satisfied or unfulfilled / dissatisfied you are in each of these areas today:

• Career/work
• Relationships
• Health
• Personal/professional growth
• Community contribution
• Recreation/hobbies
• Spiritual

Rate them on a scale of 1—10. Consider how fulfilled you are currently with the time, attention, and energy you are committing to each of these areas. Then, compare where you are today with the question in Step 1. How are you tracking?

Step 3: Map where you want to be.

Many leaders live with internal conflicts because they aren’t intentional about creating a plan around what truly matters most to them.

Thinking of life and work in a more holistic way—considering all the areas mentioned above along with what you want to ULTIMATELY create…

• What new vision will you hold for yourself in 2024?
• What intentions do you want to be more aware of and committed to?
• Are there any specific actions that come to mind?
• What needs to be added? What needs to be taken away?
• Where do you want to focus more attention and energy?

Setting another random set of goals or resolutions for 2024, particularly if they are ONLY focused on work related goals, will result in stress and frustration if they aren’t aligned with what is most important to you as a “whole leader.” Nor will your efforts and energy be sustainable throughout the upcoming year.

Give yourself the gift of thinking more deeply about what you really want to create in 2024.

Here are a few additional resources to encourage you in your leadership journey:

?? Feeling burnt out as a leader?

There are times when our work no longer inspires us. When we feel we’ve lost our spark. But the burnout I’m talking about is different.

It’s more than just a hard or bad day. It’s the kind that feels like a rut, and like you’ve lost something vital.

Loss of motivation, energy, passion, creativity—can be disconcerting, especially if you’re usually a leader with high energy and don’t know how to get it back.

So, click the link below for some questions to ask yourself to “get your spark back.”

Feeling Burnt Out as a Leader?

???????? You’re not the only one who benefits from being a healthy, BALANCED leader!

Leaders who run on empty have nothing left to give. It’s good to work hard. It’s good to give it our all. It’s good to “power through” sometimes.

But when we work at a pace that isn’t sustainable, and then internalize the consistent pressures we face on the job, our whole team (and family) will begin to suffer for it.

What could taking care of yourself as a leader look like for you? Click the link for some additional ideas to consider…

You're Not the Only One Who Benefits from Being a Healthy Balanced Leader

As you start your year, my hope and prayer for you is:

• to live according to your values
• find a healthy balance in life and work (whatever that means for you)
• to be full of excitement, joy and fulfillment
• to look back on your life and work at the end of 2024 with NO REGRETS

I know that this is possible…and I’m cheering you on as you move in that direction.

Wishing you many blessings and a Happy New Year! ????

~ Alissa

Alissa DeWitt, MCC, CPC, CERS,?is the Founder, CEO and?Executive Leadership Coach at Executive Impact, an organization dedicated to developing coach leaders and building leadership dream teams. With 30+ years in business and leadership, expertise in human behavior working with leaders from the front line to the C-Suite, and competencies as a Master Certified Coach, Alissa is the creator of ‘The Coach Approach to Leadership.'