What should leaders be doing in Q1?

Written By Alison McMurtrie

Goals - Reviews - Appraisals - KPO setting…

Well done! You finished off 2021!

Now what? Forward facing - and I don't know about you, but if I see another GOAL setting workshop, cheat sheet I will curl up and hide - enough already!

So - at iDunn, we have decided to go a slightly different route to kick off the new year. Read on, and we will hopefully help set you out a plan for the year, what needs done when and why.... This should help you plan out for team meetings, update your teams and keep everyone aligned.

The first few months of a new year are always a bit busy -

  • Everything is a little bit harder depending on your motivation level

  • You have the end of year close out

  • The previous year in review (what went well, what can you replicate, what can you continue to do, and what needs revisiting)

  • Team feedback meetings or appraisals

It can all become a bit overwhelming, but we believe that actually most of the hard work was done already, and if you have been tracking metrics, then most of the info is at your fingertips!

Goal Setting

There it is the dreaded goal setting! Go grab a tea or coffee, so for a walk outside. What do you want to achieve for the business this year - write them down. What are your business values - write them down. Are the 2 lists aligned? If not, why not? Now are there goals achievable in the next 12 months, or do you need to break down in steps?

Et voila - you have revisited your values and set realistic goals for the next year! This will be the foundation to the rest of the process.

Staff 2021 Review

Share with everyone either in person, by video, zoom/ Teams or in a news letter - what went well last year, what do you want to keep doing, what do you think needs to be revisited?

2021 Performance Review

If you have staff, this needs to be safe space conversation on performance over the last 12 months. Not just your opinion, but based on the targets that were agreed, and values of the business. This needs to be a two way conversation, listen to the employee feedback, and their suggestions for the upcoming year. How can you help each other? What development can be provided?

Business KPO Setting

You have the goal breakdown, now.... how will you track your progress, check out my previous blog on KPO/KPI (https://www.idunn.ie/blog/metrics-kpo-kpi-okr-yikes). Getting these right and manageable, will help set the tone for the entire organisation for the year ahead! This will also help to set the Performance Objectives for your staff.

Review of 2021 Strategy

Business is an ever evolving world - if you are static and don't evolve/ pivot/adapt then you will have no business. So what has changed since you last visited your strategy? What needs to be adapted?
That's A LOT for Q1 (Jan-Mar), but when you look at the detail, you should have most of the information, if not there are process adaptations that can be made simply to help automate and track this.

This is what Idunn does, we specialise in supporting the planning and growth of your business. 2022 will be a rocky, bumpy road - but you got this!

Alison McMurtrie
Previous

Growth