It’s a Wrap! Turning the Page on 2024 and Crafting a Bright New Year

As the year winds down, many of us are preoccupied with busy schedules. We are committed to wrapping up holiday gifts for friends and family, carefully selecting the perfect paper, ribbons, and bows, ensuring our presents are thoughtful and beautifully packaged. But how often do we pause to truly wrap up the year for ourselves? As leaders, it’s vital to invest time in reflecting on the past year and planning for the future. This process not only prepares us for success but also ensures we’re leading with intention and clarity.

How are you wrapping up 2024?  Here are a few thoughts from your coaches!

Reflect on the Past Year

1. Acknowledge Your Achievements
   December is a perfect time to take stock of your accomplishments. Too often, leaders focus on what remains undone rather than acknowledging what has been achieved.

• • Gather your Wins. Make a list of milestones, big and small, that you (and your team) have accomplished this year.
  • Consider your progress. Even if it wasn’t a perfect finish, what movement did you make towards your goals?
  • Find a way to acknowledge and celebrate. For you personally, it might mean pausing from your busyness and committing yourself to quiet reflection. For your team, it can be as simple as having an informal gathering or year-end team meeting to share these achievements.

2. Identify Challenges
   While celebrating wins is crucial, it’s equally important to acknowledge challenges. Reflect on areas where you fell short or faced unexpected obstacles. This reflection can assist in developing strategies to overcome similar issues in the future.

• • What were your misses?
  • What went wrong, and why?
  • What lessons did you learn about you? About your team?

3. Gather Feedback
   Extraordinary leaders value the perspectives of their teams, peers, and mentors. Use the end of the year to solicit feedback from those around you. Ask for input on your leadership style, decision-making, communication effectiveness, and invite ideas on how you can improve. Instead of asking your team for “feedback” ask them a simple question like:

• • What could I do or stop doing that would make it easier to work with me, or make me a better leader?

Then hold up the mirror of the feedback, and let it help you see your blind spots and areas for growth. Don’t defend or explain. Just listen and learn. Be curious. How can this feedback help shape your growth?

3. Create a One-Page Summary
   Gather your learnings from steps 1-3 above and create a one-page summary.
   
   Consider using these headings:

• • Major Accomplishments
  • Lessons Learned
  • Feedback Summaries
  • Areas for Improvement
  • Ideas for Goals

Plan for the Year Ahead

1. Envision 2025
   We encourage you to start by creating (or re-visiting) your Do, Have, Be list. That’s where you write down everything you want to Do, Have, or Be for the rest of your life. Add to your list. Get creative and have some fun. You might also update your Wheel of Life which takes a snapshot of eight areas of your life and measures your level of fulfillment. Next, take on the One Word Challenge—create a theme or one word for your upcoming year. Use it as your guide throughout the year. What would be one word or phrase that would keep you on track and bring out your best? In addition, one of our favorite exercises is to consider the person you wish to become. What habits would you need to develop to live and lead as that person?
   
   
2. Set Clear, Inspiring Goals
   Consider your reflections from the past year and your vision exercises in #1. As you outline your goals, remember that not everything can be a priority. Identify your top priorities and focus on what will have the greatest impact.  Create categories for your goals. For many years we have used three categories: Happiness, Health, and Wealth. Set a yearly goal in each category. The key is not to have too many goals, as it is easy to lose focus. We have found that having three main goals works well. Set yourself up for success by setting your goals based on achieving them not just setting them.

   Once you decide on categories, a practical framework to use is setting SMART goals:

   • Specific: Clearly define what you want to achieve.
   • Measurable: Determine how you’ll track progress.
   • Attainable: Ensure the goal is realistic and achievable. Stretch with the appropriate amount of stress.
   • Relevant: Make sure it is important and applicable to you, not others.
   • Time-bound: Set a deadline.

   After setting your goals, consider narrowing down your big goals into shorter time frames such as 60-90 days. You will be amazed at what you can accomplish toward that larger goal when you narrow it down to more manageable parts.
   
   

3. Actions and Habits
   Nothing happens without action. It’s great to dream, visualize and set fabulous goals that we are excited about. The next thing we need to do is act. Determine your best approach to acting on your goals. We find that the most effective way is to create daily actions that can move you in the direction of your goal and the person you want to become by attaining the goal. Focus your actions on activities that you can impact (control) versus those you cannot control.

   We challenge you to create 10 daily habits (or the number that works best for you). Make them practical and easy to do like drinking 8 glasses of water a day, reading 30 minutes a day, exercising, focus time, etc. Watch what happens.
   
   

4. Accountability
   Some of us can hold ourselves accountable to the things we say we will do. Somehow, many others struggle and find it much easier to be accountable to someone else. Here is a great place to stop and notice how you are at holding yourself accountable. Do you always follow through on what you say you’ll do, even when no one else is watching? Do you let yourself off easy when it is just you who knows the actions to be taken? Is it easier or more difficult if you must check in with someone else? Whatever your “game”, make sure you set yourself up to be accountable for your results. Ask a friend, coach, teammate, spouse, or anyone else who supports you to help you hold yourself to your plan.

Look Ahead with Purpose

Closing out the year is more than just tying up loose ends—it’s about laying the groundwork for what’s to come. By thoughtfully reflecting on the year behind you and intentionally designing the year ahead, you can step into the new year with clarity, focus, and renewed energy.

As your coaches, we wish you a strong finish and an inspiring start to the new year!

We’ve got plenty more ideas, tools, and resources to share. Please reach out to us. We would be thrilled to help support your success.