Biz Extra
Published: December 18, 2023 | Updated: 15th January 2024
The end of a calendar year often prompts us to reflect upon successes and challenges and how we want the year ahead to be. With that in mind, our 12 Cs of Christmas will hopefully provide a useful list for managers and leaders to reflect upon. How many of these Cs have you consistently ensured are in place throughout 2023?
1. CLARITY
How clear is each team member on why their department/company exists and what it is trying to achieve? Are they crystal clear on what is expected of them (KPIs and behaviour)? Do they know how they are measuring up against all expectations? No doubt you have regularly reiterated much of this, but how well have you checked understanding and the key messages each person has taken away?
2. CONFIDENCE
How confident are each of your team about being able to develop to deliver all the above expectations? How confident are they in their relationships with key stakeholders, including you?
3. CONSEQUENCES
How well does each person understand the positive consequences of delivering everything that is expected of them, i.e. for them, for you, for their team, for the company, for clients, for suppliers, etc.? And how well do they understand the negative consequences of not delivering upon what is expected of them?
4. COMMUNICATION
On a scale of 1-10 (10 = high), how would you rate ‘communication’ across your team, across your company and with each individual? In our experience most errors, conflict, and frustration stem from poor communication. What do you need to do to improve your own communication skills and those of others?
5. COLLABORATION
Are your team collegiate or secretly competitive with one another? How do you play to individual strengths whilst ensuring the team take collective responsibility for results and avoid working in silos?
6. CHALLENGE
If you’ve cracked it and the team are now communicating and collaborating effectively, how do you ensure there is enough healthy challenge (in all directions) to avoid ‘group think’?
7. COMPASSION
How well are you driving results whilst demonstrating compassion for yourself and others? Do your team believe that you put yourself in their shoes and see the world through their eyes and then – importantly – take action to show you recognise what they are going through? Do they see you taking appropriate care of yourself when times are tough?
8. CELEBRATION
How good are you at catching people doing things right and celebrating individual and collective successes, versus focusing on all the things that could be better?
9. CRITICAL THINKING
How well are you able to ‘step out’ and analyse situations and information objectively to form reasoned judgements? What difference would it make if you could do this more?
10. CUSTOMER SERVICE
Looking at it with fresh eyes, how would YOU rate your customer service? How does it compare with your competitors and, if it’s better, is that enough or does that just make you mediocre?
11. CULTURE
What do clients say about your organisation? What do employees tell you directly, or indirectly, about what it’s like to work there? How about suppliers, how do they find collaborating with you all? What conclusions can you draw about your current company culture? Hear more from Alison on fostering a successful culture.
12. CHANGE MANAGEMENT
70% of change initiatives fail – i.e. they are not delivered on time, or to the right quality, or within budget, or the change does not ‘stick’. How well are you leading and managing change within your organisation, to avoid wasted time, money, or effort? What do you need to do more of, less of or differently to ensure people get on board with change and it is successful?
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We hope this Christmas cracker of a checklist helps you identify some leadership New Year’s resolutions for 2024. As always, if you would like to bounce any ideas or undertake any coaching, mentoring, or training with our team of leadership and employee engagement experts please get in touch.
All the best for a happy, healthy, and fulfilling year ahead!
