How to Keep Riding September's Energy Wave to the End of the Year
Making the most of the final third of the year
As we move through the first part of September, I’m preparing to take a break. After a hot summer in rural Andalucía, returning to the cooler climes for some hiking in the north of the UK will be an invigorating change. (The rain will certainly help).
When I return, I’ll be back with gusto kicking off a series of workshops to help newly remote leaders develop motivated connected teams from a distance, delivering off-sites for two leadership teams; as well as coaching the senior leaders I work with individually. The next few months are going to be busy, and I can’t wait.
To help me prepare for my return - and think beyond my first week back - I spent some time reflecting on this piece.
It felt like a great opportunity to re-share it with you too. I hope you find it useful.
How to Keep Riding September's Energy Wave to the End of the Year
The start of September marks the beginning of the final third of the year.
Whilst it's normal to divide the year into quarters, September to December feels like a period on its own, culminating in the celebration (or exhaustion) that is Christmas.
September marks for many a peak in energy, which often doesn’t take another upward direction before the end of the year.
So now is your chance to focus.
Here’s a simple 3 x 3 set of questions to help you be more intentional with your leadership and achieve what you want this year.
Reflect: Many of the leaders I work with are fast-paced and high-action. And it often means that pausing and reflecting doesn’t come naturally or easily.
But taking a beat and looking back can help you extract your successes and learn from the experiences you’ve had. It helps you get laser-focused on what you need to work on next, propelling you forward exponentially.
Think about the start of the year and what you originally set out to do.
How are you doing on your biggest priorities this year? (What successes have you had? What has changed?)
What important lessons have you learned in the last 8 months?
Have you made the kind of impact on yourself and your world that you want to make?
As much as focussing on what you did, it’s easy to overlook other factors necessary for you to be a great leader; your mindset and your energy.
Now revisit the same questions with these two factors in mind.
Know another leader who has ambitious plans for the end of the year? This post is free, and public, so feel free to share it.
Correct: When things start to go off course, uncertainty can kick in. One natural reaction is to give up or stop, completely - rather than course correcting and keeping going.
This tends to be incredibly prevalent in those with a perfectionist streak.
What action do you need to take to continue making progress?
What do you need to do differently to manage your energy and impact more effectively?
What do you need to believe to keep your energy motivation high until the end of the year?
Celebrate: A lot has happened in the last nine months, and you’ve made progress. Think back to where you were at the start of the year.
What were you doing? What were you struggling with? What were you worried about?
Where are you now? What successes have you had? What has changed?
And what do you want to be celebrating having achieved at the end of this year?
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