STARTING RIGHT: NUGGET FOR A GREAT 2024

CREDIT: LUCY QUIST

Leading yourself takes much more than resolutions! As I matured on my leadership journey, I realized that resolutions were not the most effective way to make progress.

Resolutions typically focus on what we need to change, mainly in our behavior. Personal change is difficult. I am yet to meet someone who has not found this challenging. But if you are one of the few for whom personal change is easy, please share your secrets in the comments.

So what do I do around this time of the year as I prepare for the next?

Review

I start by looking back on the year that has been. As I have done this for a while, I always have a written list of the outcomes, by category, that I wanted out of the year. I am objective about lessons learnt and celebratory about what went well. More often than not, the causes for celebration exceed what I anticipated. Gratitude is energising.

• If your are new to this, I would say that the focus should be the past year.
• If you have done it for a while, then you will have outcomes that are multi-year and you will be able to reflect with greater perspective.
• If this is conceptually new to you, just reflect on the last few years and focus on outcomes you learnt from and causes for celebration.

Aim to create momentum for this to eventually become habitual.

Vision

Creating visions are at the heart of how I have replaced 'resolutions'. I believe that we should always create visions. Multi-year visions are ideal. I have previously shared a few videos on what I did and the outcomes. However, at the very minimum we need visions for the year ahead.

• If you cast your mind to December 2024, what do you see yourself experiencing as your life? Professionally, personally or otherwise, step into each category and literally visualise what your life will be about.
• Visions are so important because even when we are not intentional we have them subconsciously and unfortunately we may create outcomes we don't want for ourselves without realising it. Take for instance someone who thinks they want a promotion but keeps telling themselves that their company is a terrible place to work. Their repeated thought patterns will drive their actions more than their ill-defined vision of being at the next level.

Goals

Of course, visions need measurable tangible success metrics which is why categorising your visions is so important - let's face it, we each want be successful in different aspects of our lives. But what is a goal worth if it does not serve a vision? So define what achieving the vision means.

• Going back to the promotion analogy, getting promoted is just one measure of a vision of professional growth. And usually promotion means more responsibility, reward and accountability. It may mean more time commitment too. How will you translate these into goals that serve the vision?
• If you have multi-year visions, then your goals span several years too. In 2023 there were goals that I had for 2024 that were achieved sooner and goals for 2023 that were missed, though I did achieve many 2023 goals. I realised that goals that were brought forward were linked to visions that I spent the most time reflecting on and thus influenced my actions.

So why not resolutions?

Because resolutions lack resilience. If you set visions, supported by goals you are more likely to develop the resilience to deal with curveballs and roadblocks because you see past them to the vision. It makes it easier to focus on solutions rather than throwing your hands up in the air and thinking you simply failed.

Make a plan

Perhaps this sounds like the most straight forward step because most of us are pretty decent at making a plan. The challenge is the plan needs more than milestones. Consider these elements too...

• Accountability partners. Who will keep you honest and focused? Who will check in with you? Who will partner with you?
• Gap analyses. Are there gaps between the person you are today and the person who will live the vision? Do you need new skills, resources, contacts or simply need to free up more time? Your plan must include how you intend to close these gaps.
• Ensure the plan includes times for you to pause, reflect and adjust over time. The fact that you may sometimes have to adjust does not negate the need for a plan.

Enjoy the journey

It took me a long time to learn and fully embrace this. There is a risk of living for the vision of the future and forgetting to enjoy the stage you are currently in. It is not just about the destination but the experiences along the way.

Stay ambitious

When you get to the visions you set, create new ones. As I reflected on my my life recently, I realised that some of the toughest times have been when I literally lost ambition in a particular aspect of my life. Those gaps of no vision meant limited goals and diminished ability to deal with curveballs. Sounds implausible to people who know me personally but it was such an important realisation in my reflections.

In a vision creating session I led, someone said he wanted to get married. I said that is a goal and not a vision. What is your vision for married life? Silence! And that is my point.

Pass it on

We each of the opportunity to share our lessons of self-leadership. You may be a leader in a corporation, pass it on. You may be a leader in your church, pass it on. You may be a leader in your home, pass it on.

When my children were younger, I knew visions were too heavy duty for them so we started with goals each year. They had to define just one for each of the categories faith, academic, social/fun. At the end of the year we would review and set new goals. Now they are older, I encourage them to have simple visions, an example being for their careers, defining what their early career will be about. I want their tertiary education to be led by their visions. Visions of their careers will create meaning for their academic achievements and energise them to persist.

Done consistently, this framework has helped me evolve as a person on all fronts much more than a focus on any resolutions would. Behaviour change (resolutions) must serve visions to be sustained.