The new year brings with it the promise of a new beginning. It offers both an opportunity to let go of the past and a chance to commit to reach towards higher goals. It also presents a challenge to remain open and optimistic in the face of the unexpected.
For most successful leaders, challenging themselves and their teams to reach higher comes somewhat naturally, and it is reinforced by organizational imperative. What is more difficult is the ‘letting go and remaining open’ part of the puzzle and these two pieces have become more relevant to leadership success since the beginning of the pandemic.
To stay nimble, we must continue to release old ways of thinking and old ways of doing things. This includes both personal and professional components. For example, leadership behaviors that no longer work and/or processes and policies that no longer serve a purpose must go. Leaders need to think about implementing a systemic approach to reviewing and discarding outdated ideas and policies, and at the same time, look for ways to involve the entire organization.
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Once this hard work is done, a new creative space will open to solve unexpected new challenges and leverage new opportunities as they arise. No one could have predicted the many twists and turns that we have all gone through on a personal, organizational, societal and worldly level these last few years. With all the continued pandemic, supply chain, climate, and social issues we have been forced to navigate, there are bound to be more uncharted times ahead.
So, as you start this new year, give some thought to setting yourself and your team up for success. By not only reaching for higher goals, but also by creating a system to eliminate traditional ways of thinking-and-doing that may no longer serve you or your organization, you will be achieving a new creative and flexible space to deal with the unexpected issues this coming year may bring.
It’s an exciting time to be a leader and 2022 is waiting for all of us to step up and embrace a new beginning.
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