Preparing for 2010, 1-3
By now most organizations have finalized their 2010 business strategy and action plans. Have you decided on your personal strategy for next year? Over the next three months I will recommend a total of ten actionable ideas to help you get your leadership and life plan on the books before 2010. Here are my three suggestions for this month of October.
1. Start with your Stakeholders – Make a list of the people or groups that are vital for your happiness in life, productivity at work, and ongoing career success in 2010. Most people have eight to ten key relationships with whom they hope to build bridges in life and work. Action: When you finish your list, rate the quality of each relationship on a scale of one to five. A five indicates this relationship is great – “couldn’t be better” A one represents it “needs some work”. Now write a goal for each stakeholder to either: continue what you’re doing, if you rated the relationship a four or five – or state what you will stop or start doing, if you rate the relationship a three or less.
2. Balance your Roles – You wear three hats at work: leader, manager, and mentor. When wearing the leader hat energy is placed on declaring an organization/team vision and inspiring others to go there with you. In the manager role you pay attention to improving performance through making systems, processes, and procedures better. The mentoring hat is worn while helping an individual achieve and become more than he/she thought was possible. Based on your goals, which hat do you need you to wear more or less next year? Action: Using a scale of 100% note what percentage of time do you currently wear each of the three hats? Show your percentages to your key stakeholders and ask for their suggestion on any hat shifting you need to do in 2010.
3. Run to Success – Stewart Emery, author of the international bestseller, Success Built to Last says it best, “The first step to having what you really want is the removal of everything in your environment that represents mediocrity, removing those things that are limiting. One way is to surround yourself with friends who ask more of you than you do.” My very successful eternal optimist brother-in-law puts it another way, “Don’t walk away from negative people – Run!” Action: Create two lists: “people I will run away from” and “people I will walk with” next year.