Fourth quarter is typically the most critical time for leaders and organizations to be focused upon planning and goal setting. While this is not the only time of year leaders and professionals must dedicate time and effort towards being proactive and strategic, it is an ideal time to adopt &/or recommit to proactive planning practices that can become instrumental disciplines for successful leaders.
Key Planning Disciplines
As you and your team create the vision and the action plan for 2025, here are some key strategies to integrate into how you are running your days, weeks, months, and really…your life!
Follow a workday start up routine. Start each day with 5-10 minutes dedicated to creating your ideal plan for the day. Resist the urge to start your day responding to emails or firing off text messages (and please do not do this immediately after waking up!). Instead, kick start the day by proactively assessing the events already on your calendar and anticipating needs from team and/or clients, so you can get out ahead of any obstacles or detours to your ideal plan. Then, stay committed to the plan you put in place and maintain your priorities and boundaries. This daily discipline will ensure you stay in control and at the wheel, driving the day based on your priorities and not someone else’s emergencies.
Review and preview every week. Plan your work then work your plan. You have heard this pithy saying a thousand times before, but have you put it into practice on a consistent basis? Not only is daily planning essential, but so is developing a weekly review and preview ritual. Most of my clients prefer Friday afternoons or Sunday evenings to “rise above” the noise of the day-to-day and survey the scenery from above.
Use this weekly ritual to review the previous week and acknowledge the successes and progress made by yourself and your team. Then, preview the upcoming week by identifying any incomplete tasks or projects from the previous week. Use this “status report” to align the carryover tasks with the upcoming week’s new priorities. Ask yourself questions such as, “What additional needs might the team have of me?” and “What personal priorities do I need to create time for during my work week?” Map out your week before it starts! A former client who put this discipline into place was able to stop working 8+ hours each Sunday, once she began trusting these upcoming weekly roadmaps she created each Friday afternoon before leaving her office.
Ensure you have appropriate team visibility. As a leader, you want to have your finger on the pulse of the business at all times, which includes being aware of your teams’ needs and weekly priorities. Don’t get overly involved, but have awareness of each teams’ highest priorities and deadlines to anticipate needs and potential obstacles. This can greatly reduce how often you as a leader have to be reactive to unexpected problems. Frequent and open communication with each team leader within your organization also helps to establish trust and build relationships, which encourage transparency and enhance collaboration.
Make meetings meaningful. Inefficient meetings are the #1 workplace distraction that hurts productivity. Create company-wide best practices and rules of engagement to ensure every meeting scheduled is happening for a clear and productive reason. Create agendas prior to meetings that identify specific outcomes. One of my clients follows the motto, “No Agenda, No Attendee!” With the right set of expectations and proactive planning, each meeting participant will be better prepared and will find meetings are a valuable use of time. Lead by example and commit to the discipline of designing meetings that matter!
Master The ASCEND Method™ All six fundamentals of The ASCEND Method have a high impact on your productivity levels and contribute to being a more proactive leader. If you need a refresher, visit the last four blog posts and recommit to these habits, behaviors, and strategies that will help you become the successful, productive leader you want to be.
Looking for some additional support for your team as you map out 2025? Let’s chat!
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