Time for a "Reset"

Happy New Year!  One thing I love about this time of year is that it’s a natural time to press the “reset” button.  You can reset your relationships, your work habits, your physical and mental well-being, or all of the above. As a leader, you can also reset your team and facilitate your staff to reset themselves. The important thing is to recognize you have the power to reset anything you want. Whatever was going on in 2019 can stay there, it doesn’t have to flow into the New Year.

Over the last decade I’ve had the pleasure of leading many different teams in a variety of capacities. Here’s the steps I’ve used to help my teams reset. 

1.      Declare that you’re doing a reset.  This seems simple and obvious, which it is, but it’s a critical first step. Declaring a reset gets the entire team on the same page and creates a paradigm for the team to contemplate what they want to reset.  

2.      Get the team involved in generating ideas for what to reset. You can give the team some time to think about it before you hold a team meeting to discuss, or you can use a meeting to draw out ideas by using some brainstorming techniques. I’ve always found that the most successful resets are the ones that the team developed and committed to.  As the leader you can steer the conversation to ensure alignment with your goals and the business’ goals, but you need to give the team leeway to establish what the priorities are. 

3.      Document and get commitment to what you and the team are resetting.   Formalizing the plan with the team and sharing it with your manager is a great way to commit to what you’re planning to do.  We’ve all had the experience of coming up with great ideas, having the best of intentions, only to get caught up in the daily grind. The next thing you know, nothing happens. By formalizing the goals the likelihood of the team and yourself following through increases. If you can tie these goals in with your formal KPOs, and business priorities, that exponentially increases the likelihood of accomplishing them.  

 4.      Keep it alive. I typically hold team meetings every Monday morning for the team to touch base, level set on the plans for the week, review last week’s results, discuss any pressing issues etc.  This is a great time to add any reset items to the team’s weekly agenda.  It allows for a touchpoint and keeps the momentum going. Depending on the nature of what you’re doing, if you can include some reporting or tracking into the equation, that will have a significant positive impact on keeping the reset alive.  I also like to tie this into each individuals weekly or biweekly “1 to 1” coaching sessions.    

 5.      Don’t be afraid to reset the “reset”.  As you get into the year, you may find that business needs change, priorities change, staff change etc.  You and the team should feel comfortable adjusting or even abandoning parts of the initial reset. Being open minded, flexible and adaptable are keys to making this reset process valuable over the course of the year.