“I couldn’t even keep it together one week!” - Liz Lemon
Did you make a New Year’s Resolution? Have you… started it yet? Maybe you have taken the attitude, “why should I make a resolution if I’m just going to fail?” Resolutions are an interesting concept because their core nature is to change and improve an aspect of who we are. So, why do we so often fail at them or they are just some end-of-year happy thought? I believe the biggest and most important factor is there isn’t enough conviction and incentive. I can tell myself that I’m going to read two books a month all I want, but in the end, why am I doing it? We need to want to change on a deep level to accomplish our goals. A good thought or well-meaning tweet won’t accomplish this. The only time change happens is when you are ready to commit. If you truly have conviction in changing you also need to give space to have missteps in your journey to improve. For example, getting a blog about New Year's Resolutions out in February.
The same goes for values and moving toward behavioral change at work. We need to believe in the mission and goals that need to be accomplished, and not just pay lip service. Teams and individuals can’t work well and be most effective if they don’t truly believe in the mission and working towards a positive change in the organization. This is going to be hard work, it won't be resolved overnight, but is worth doing.
Does your team have trust issues? Then, the work needs to build trust, the hard work of honest and candid communication needs to take place. Bring in an outside party, pursue team alignment, and work out where the trust breakdown is. Empty words and nodding heads don’t build trust.
I’m looking forward to 2022 and to working with all our clients that are committed to true change this year. Let this be the year that you commit to moving good intentions into positive and effective productivity.