For many managers and business owners, December is all about reflecting and looking ahead. Reflecting on the goals of the past year. Looking ahead to what can be done better next year. What are the 10 best good intentions for working smarter next year?
1. Ditch the meeting culture
Even before the corona crisis, we were spending an average of about 30 hours a week in meetings. Add to that the fact that 85 percent of participants think they're more productive when they're just at work. Then it's easy math that with the even less effective online meeting culture these days, you're wasting quite a bit of time (and money).
About the so-called zoom fatigue was talked about a lot especially in 2020 but is no less relevant today. It is simply far too exhausting for our brains to be in an online environment the nonverbal cues to pick up those needed for good communication. If you can't get out of it, shorten your meetings to no more than fivih minutes, see if the NSM can (no screen meeting) and whether you really need everyone there.
2. Stop discussing 'hybrid working'
"If you want to conquer the island, burn the ships behind you," Julius Caesar said in his attack on England at the time. That way, you also can't retreat and are much more likely to succeed.
Focusing on hybrid working will keep you clinging to the old situation in the same way. So don't start figuring out how to maintain as much as possible. Take the opportunity to turn things around completely. Burn the ships behind you.Start with a clean slate and go from there to design the new way of working.
Harvard Business Review examined what employees look for most when it comes to hybrid working. What it turns out: in particular, it's about a sense of autonomy. Having the ability to decide where and when to do their work. Whether that's possible within your organization or not; something to keep in mind.
3. Kill your darlings
What business are you in with your company? What does it include and should you do very well and what should you especially not do. Who do you hire within your company and what do you hire. More focus, on less, ultimately delivers more quality. Moreover, it reinforces your message to the outside world so that others know exactly what to expect from you. Only when you then have real speed can you move on.
Think of Netflix that never started selling ad space, but kept the focus on subscriptions. That's where their strength is. But when they got big enough, they were able to start making great series, which in turn fit their offerings perfectly. Uber can now easily move on to meals and packages with their network of drivers. Moreover, this again strengthens their proposition towards their drivers.
But until you're big enough, it's helpful to park these kinds of side-steps for a while longer. Focus on your core.
4. Make good agreements with each other
When working remotely good agreements essential. The new way of working allows each employee to work according to his or her biorhythms. But, when do you schedule meetings? When are your employees reachable and when can they be unreachable to concentrate or relax? By making clear agreements on these topics, you enable everyone to perform optimally and create a psychologically safe environment.
5. From prevention to amplification
As opposed to treating (curation) or preventing (prevention) negative states at work (such as work stress or burnout), amplification provides for the active promotion of positive states in employees. Think of engagement, well-being and health.
Whereas prevention is to some extent limited to high-risk cases (because it aims to prevent problems), the scope of amplification is broader. Indeed, because of its positive approach, all employees can benefit from such interventions.
6. Focus on connection
An open door, but so important. Connection creates trust. And in teams where it trust high, people are more engaged, less stressed, more energized and performance is higher. Chances are you already know all that but consider for yourself: how often do you call someone on your team just to check in on how things are going?
7. Be nice
According to Berkeley professor Emiliana Simon-Thomas is kindness one of the pillars important for job happiness. Kindness is about creating trust, sharing insights, giving feedback and compliments and listening well to each other.
Work happiness is linked in various studies to better health, increased creativity, effective problem solving and increased productivity, among other things. Also, people who experience high levels of work happiness are more engaged and experience more flow and meaning in their work.
8. Pause, pause, pause
In my previous column I mentioned it as well. I can't stress it enough: encourage taking plenty of (quality) rest breaks. You can't expect your employees to keep accelerating continuously if they don't recharge in between.
9. Pay it forward
He who does good, meets good. Even at work. It activates the reward center in the brain, it makes happier and it stimulates the production of the hormone oxytocin (which in turn helps you become more resistant to stress).
10. Celebrate successes
The most fun way to improve connection in your team. Keep track of your colleagues' successes and surprise them occasionally in the team meeting with each one mentioning his or her success.
This is also a great way to end this year. Thank your team for their efforts by sending them a fun or inspiring gift! For example a book full of inspiration for good intentions
