Nudge 12: What will you take into 2020?
The holiday season is a time of rest… except for the flurry of activity before you switch off the lights for the year. You’re likely tying up loose ends and ensuring that your ducks are in a row, so I’ll be brief.
It’s important to look back at your progress across the year, but also to review what’s likely to work for the one ahead. Did you try something and it didn’t work? It’s likely you’ll have a better outcome trying again with those lessons in mind.
What will you take into the new year? iStock.com/kamisoka.
Knowledge is nothing without action. Reading something once is unlikely to mean that it is learnt in the long-term sense.
Doing something once will not change a habit, or change a company. Choosing to use the upcoming break as a time for reflection, here is a summary of our Holiday nudges. Which ones will you put into practice this year, and into the next?
One: Be clear, honest and authentic about who you are and what the company is. Ask: does your brand and its people stand for ‘me’ or ‘we’?
Two: No person is an island – the world’s problems cannot be solved in isolation. Where are you forging ahead on your own, and where may you be better off seeking other’s views?
Three: Relationships are key to organisational growth. Who are your top three potential partnerships? How would you help them? What partnerships will complement or enhance your organisation’s capabilities?
Four: Culture is a shared responsibility that can’t be ignored. What is the one thing people aren’t talking about at work? Get it in the open.
Five: Purpose beyond profit is your secret weapon. Ask your people: “what impact do we want to make in the broader world?” Their insights might help build a co-created purpose that speaks to your contribution to broader society.
Six: Apply a growth mindset. Encourage people to be open-minded, experiment, focus on learning and growing – in an environment of psychological safety. What don’t you know? Move towards it with gusto.
Seven: The world is changing. Know and clearly articulate what you stand for, especially in matters of the environment and Corporate Social Responsibility. What are you genuinely doing for the next generation?
Eight: If change isn’t managed well and communicated clearly, people will revert to what’s easiest. What can you do to make change the easy choice for your people?
Nine: Technology will alter or improve your role as a leader. How might it enhance collaboration within and outside your organisation?
Ten: Many pebbles fill the pond. Even the small choices we make impact the world in ways we may not realise. What would happen if you brought 5% more awareness to the global impacts of your actions?
Eleven: Admitting to one’s mistakes as a leader is vital to success. Ask yourself “ How comfortable am I saying “I don’t know?” Are you using ‘failures’ as a powerful learning opportunity, or hiding them?
Twelve: Review and revisit what you’ve learned. What can you put into practice this year, and into the next?
