Lately I have been talking to people about how to maintain their momentum at the end of the year so that the New Year doesn’t roll around and you find your progress coming to a screeching halt. It isn’t easy…but it is possible. Here are 3 tips to close out 2013 right and get started in 2014 with a minimum amount of ramp up…
1. Put a definite timeline on when your team should wrap up its work before the holidays: What I mean is that if you say to your team, “Let’s make sure we have everything tied up by noon on the 20th.” You have the chance to make sure that your team is able to wrap up the projects in a manner that will allow them to effectively finish up projects or pieces of projects in a timely and effective manner. Which will allow them to more readily pick them back up once the holidays are over.
2. Impose a dark period on your team: The period from around December 20th to the end of the year is hectic. You have holidays, parties, New Year’s, family, friends, etc, etc. And, too often, your employees will want to get in one last email or one last thought before the end of the year, but what that does is just stretches everyone a little bit more. Instead of getting your best thinking, you are getting a harried and over extended person’s thoughts at a time when they are just trying to punch out one more acknowledgement of their worth before the New Year. That’s not the way you want your team to feel. So put a ban on this type of thing. Tell your team that even if they email you, you won’t be replying until January 2nd…so you expect them to take the next week or so to spend time with friends and family. Its tough but you will benefit from it come January.
3. Take a little time in December to plan for January and the New Year: Everyone is talking resolutions at this time of year. Its built into our culture. Most of the resolutions are discarded early in the new year but as a business leader, you can harness the idea of resolutions and goal setting to put a positive agenda in place for the start of the year. Maybe you are going to quantify 3 things your team can achieve in the first 2 weeks of January. Or, you are laying out 3 specific tasks that your team needs to get done by the 10th of January. Its your business, so make sure that these plans fit your goals, but you can help focus your team right after the holidays by having a predetermined number of goals that everyone is going to work on when they get back.
I hope these help, please feel free to email me with any thing you think I missed or things you use.