The New Year is a natural time to think about renewal and how to be more effective as a leader. However, some of the typical things many of us do with New Year’s resolutions often end in failure – 88% of the time, according to one study. I look at how three words can help you set the stage for your development actions this year.

I discuss how running a marathon helped me understand why so many of us have a hard time tackling so many goals at once.

The problem with resolutions:

• A study by Richard Wiesman in the UK followed 3,000 people for a year and determined that only 12% of people actually fulfill their New Year’s resolutions
• Intention is easy – but putting the time into action is hard
• We are going to hit obstacles we don’t anticipate
• We we bit off more than we can chew, our systems can crumble. I talk about how I made this mistake a bit last year in my planning (see episode #23) and why I tried to do too much all at once.

What works better:

• Reflect on the past year.
  • Ask yourself: What did I do well last year? Where did I fall short?
  • Ask people around you the same questions – talk to people you trust
  • Look at assessments, 360s, performance reviews
  • Examine patterns you are seeing with your team or group of people you lead – it get magnified
• What are the general themes that emerge of what you want to do differently?
  • One example for me – interaction with others and social media
  • Find three words that can meet it
  • My three: Show Up, Flexibility, and Collaboration
  • Start with one goal that will lead you there

Communicate it:

• Have your 3 words visible
• Share your words with others
• Ask others to give feedback/coaching on this
• This is an effective way to connect with your team as well, as it’s simple for people to remember your goals

I’d love to hear your 3 – and also I’d love to hear what works for you in your self-development at the beginning of a year.

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