December FAQ - Creating Urgency at the Start of the Year
One Friday, each month, I dedicate the post to looking at some questions I have heard recently from developing leaders. Sharing those questions and my thoughts for them is a way for me to spread the information to as many leaders and future leaders as possible. If you have a question about leadership, or just a situation you would like some additional insight on, please email me at Effective Retail Leader. Let’s take a look at this week’s question.
I want to get a jump start on the new year results - how do I create urgency right from the start?
Getting a quick start to the year is every leader’s hope. Having your team just as excited and full of urgency is also a desired outcome that any leader would look for. So how can you put that into action?
Set the tone
You need to ensure your team understands what they are facing as you head into a new year. Just because the calendar changes, doesn’t mean the trends will change with it. Everyone needs to understand where they are and what lies ahead. Depending on your business trends and the goals for the coming year, the tone of your message will be different. Spend some time thinking about the ‘voice’ of the message you want to convey. Urgency is necessary whether you are trending positive or negative. The actions will be what changes from your messaging. While you may want to avoid a very negative tone, be honest. If there are issues that need to be addressed, address them. You can paint a picture of change and what that will look like.
Have a clear vision for the year
Build on the vision you have previously established. What is next? Most people do see the end of a year or start of the new one as a fresh start. Take advantage of that feeling. Defining what you are working towards is a great way to get people excited about what they can accomplish with that ‘fresh start.’ Identifying and communicating a few objectives at the start of the year gives the team a path to follow and something for them to rally around.
Gather the team - one message
Pull your team together for a meeting or a conference call. Do this as early in the year as possible. This may be an early preview session if you need more time to define the objectives of the year further. But, start something early, so they know what is coming. As a multi-unit leader, it may not be possible to get your full team together right at the start of the year, but you can have a dedicated conference call to kick off the year. This is the perfect place to ‘set the tone’ as I mentioned above. Having that single meeting ensures that your entire team hears your message the same way.
Stay on message
If you want to keep the urgency high, reinforce these new messages in all of your communications throughout January. It will take time to embed your objectives and messaging - keep pushing forward. Connect all of your interactions to what you have defined as success. The more you reinforce, the quicker the team will understand the direction you are pushing them. This will help build the muscle you need to stick with your plan and make progress towards your ultimate desired outcome.
The beginning of the year is an exciting time. Everyone feels as though they can do anything with the clean slate of a fresh year. And while trends may not change overnight, you can leverage the timing to begin new behaviors, test innovative ideas, and keep the team excited about all of the possibilities that lie ahead.
Good luck and wishing everyone happiness and success in 2020!
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