2020: It’s time to really reflect on your lessons to be the best we can be in 2021

For some, it feels as if we have been standing still for much of 2020. Yet others feel exhausted –having worked tirelessly to save lives and deliver essential products and services. All of us have had moments of lamenting what could’ve, should’ve happened in our organizations this year. Some colleagues began working virtually and likely won’t return to an office. Some are so critical to the business that they wear the mantle of essential worker to keep production operational. Everyone is doing all this while trying to keep the ones they love safe and healthy.

Yes, 2021 will still present challenges. We likely won’t be travelling any time soon. We will continue to embrace technology in new and innovative ways to share ideas and connect.

In “normal times,” we’d be setting goals and thinking about closing out the last three months of the calendar year by writing short and long-term plans. So, what’s stopping you?

If this year felt very “out of control,” it is understandable to have a knee jerk reaction of “what can I control?” as we look to 2021 and beyond. I will challenge us all to go deeper and first think about how you and your organization want to “BE”. In other words – how do you want to “show up”? How do you want to lead? And, what do you want to be known for?

How did you show up in 2020? How do you want to strengthen that; change that? It is truly only AFTER you decide how you want to “show up” that you can then decide what you will do.

Here are just a few questions to help start your thought process:

• What am I learning/did I learn about myself as a leader in responding to COVID-19?
• How did our organization demonstrate its values to our teams? What went well, and where do we have opportunities to grow?
• What did we learn about our customers, and what did they learn about us? What do we want to change?
• How do I want to “show up” moving forward based on my learnings?
• What’s important to our organization in facing change and “the unexpected” in the future?
• What do I want to make sure every team member feels, in their bones, in this organization?

Once you are clear on what you value, it will be much easier to then decide what “to do”. Time invested now is the foundation for the leaders, organization, and culture you want in 2021.