Inspire Your Team to Do More in the New Year

Everyone wants to get the new year off to a positive start. The idea of getting your team excited for the start of another year can seem daunting as well as energizing. Creating energy and inspiration is a way to move through the holidays and take on the new challenges that will be presented in January. Here are a few ways you can get your team fired up for the coming year.

Team Volunteer Event

You may be able to do this in conjunction with a meeting you have with your team. Dedicate half a day to doing something as a team for someone else. Volunteer your time at a food bank, soup kitchen, or another group that welcomes volunteers. Other ideas may be working at a Habitat For Humanity store (ReSTore) or one of their local projects building a house. You could spend time at a nearby school and help paint, landscape, or help facilitate or support during an event. Giving back as a team will leave everyone feeling good about what you have done. It is an excellent team building experience. And you may just inspire team members to volunteer more often outside of a work event as well. Everyone wins.

Personalized Letter

This one works for recognition as well. In the digital world, we live in today, few people think about the sending the old-fashioned way. Remember US Postal Mail? Take some time to write a thank you note to your team members about a few specific things they did last year that helped make them or the team successful. Let them know how it made you feel and that you appreciated it. Provide a look ahead and challenge them to aspire to even more in the new year and how you will help them achieve that. Put your note or card in the envelope, put a stamp on it, and mail it. They will be thrilled to get a note in the mail, especially a personalized note from their leader about what they have meant to you.

Inspirational Videos

Take some time to scour the internet for a few videos that provide inspiration for others. They can be about anything, but keep them relatively short and positive. Look at TEDTalks for ideas and some videos to share. Obviously YouTube has an endless supply of videos. Search for inspiration, leadership, development, gratitude, happiness or something else along those lines to find a few that really connect with you. Send your team a note about what your thoughts were when you watched them and why you wanted to share them with your team. You’ll be surprised how much the team will appreciate you connecting them to smile inducing videos to help inspire them to the year ahead. Your comments and thoughts will be as important to them as the message from the videos. There are a few ideas to get you started in the Resources tab on EffectiveRetailLeader.com.

Book Club

Why not start the year off by finding a book that can be purchased for each member of your team to learn and discuss? Perhaps you have heard about or read a book yourself recently that inspired action, new ways of thinking, or provided an aspirational outcome. Establish time each week to review a chapter or two with the entire team. What are their thoughts? What did they learn from the section? What could be applied to your environment? What challenges might you face? How could things be better if you implemented the ideas? You’ll find that the shared experience in itself will be an inspiration for your team. It gives everyone the same experience and an opportunity to share their thoughts on how something could be changed, updated, or implemented better for everyone. See the list at the end of this article for some ideas on books you could use for your 2018 Book Club Kickoff.

Capture Stories

Ask your team for some of their stories of success in the past year. What were some of their best moments of 2017 and why? Did they accomplish something big in their life - personal or at work. What were they most proud of in past 12 months? Gather these together and then share with the entire team. If you have some highlights from working with the team last year, capture those as well to add to the sharing. To add extra inspiration, share your thoughts on how those stories made you feel. Share your pride in their successes and best moments.These are a few ideas to help kick off the new year with inspiration for your team. Getting your team fired up at the start of a ‘new season’ is a way to reset the energy and ensure your team is excited to achieve new and exciting things for 2018.What else have you done to inspire your team at the start of a new year? Share your ideas and stories in comments.

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Book Recommendations

Short reads

1. The Ideal Team Player
2. QBQ - The Question Behind the Question
3. Energy Bus: 10 Rules to Fuel Your Life, Work, and Team with Positive Energy
4. Leaders Made Here: Building a Leadership Culture
5. You Win The Locker Room First: The 7 C's to Build a Winning Team in Business, Sports, and Life

Medium Reads

1. It’s Your Ship
2. The Coaching Habit
3. Extreme Ownership
4. Uncontainable - How Passion, Commitment, and Conscious Capitalism Built a Business Where Everyone Thrives

Longer/Specialty Reads

1. Smarter Faster Better: The Secrets of Being Productive in Life and Business
2. Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don't
3. Switch - How to Change Things When Change Is Hard

Up next…Do More Recognition in the New Year.