Another year is ending. It is a time of year that lends itself to taking stock. In doing so, we’re reminded about how fortunate we are to do work that we enjoy with people who are interested in learning, growing, and contributing. Even though our work is to help others learn, we learn just as much from them.
Here are 22 things we learned working with leaders this past year.
1. Be vigilant about checking assumptions. Not seeing them will limit what we learn from, or about, another person and their views.
2. Keep open time in your calendar. You don’t know what is going to come up and your brain needs some time to think.
3. A critical part of managing change successfully is giving each person impacted by change the time and space to talk, without judgement, about how the changes affect them.
4. Clarity is energizing.
5. We don’t have to agree with each other to do great work together.
6. Our finite time and energy is better spent on understanding what a person thinks rather than getting them to agree with what we think.
7. Going into a discussion with preconceived notions about what the other person thinks is limiting.
8. Self-care includes choosing the way in which I respond to situations I don’t like.
9. Even in the best-laid plans, include time to deal with what you don’t know you don’t know.
10. Respectful accountability builds trust.
11. One longer, focused discussion takes less time than 5 shorter, unfocused discussions. Always.
12. Effective leaders are curious.
13. We judge ourselves by our intentions. Others judge us by our behaviours.
14. Recognizing what is ineffective about my leadership is a courageous act.
15. Saying no will feel risky before it feels empowering.
16. Resentment is a sign that a boundary has been crossed.
17. You can’t get to the facts until you deal with the feelings.
18. Sincere listening is one of the most respectful things we can do for our teams and colleagues.
19. Underestimating our ability to influence a situation is a way of playing it safe.
20. To have a productive discussion, pay attention to the small stuff.
21. Managing change is an illusion. Facilitating change is a necessity.
22. Small steps add up to big shifts.
Now the task is to keep these learnings and build upon them, remaining open to what next year brings.
What did you learn in 2022? How will this impact your work next year?
