January 2023

Individual Leadership: This Will Make the Biggest Difference in Your Leadership in 2023

At the beginning of your workday, consider this question: What do people need from me as a leader? We all have to-do lists filled with meetings, emails and stuff we need to get done. But adding this question to your task list can inform how you approach all your priorities. How will you inspire others during meetings? What is the connection to strategy your team needs from you? Who needs direction, coaching, and development? You will still get all the same things done, but you may approach these tasks quite differently by adding the filter of “how am I going to show up as a leader today?” Viewing your work through the lens of leadership will help your team produce the results you want.

For more resolutions on being a better leader in the new year, check out my article The Leadership Resolutions That Work Best.

Organizational Leadership: Get Serious About Your Customers

The G.O.A.T. of management consultants, Peter Drucker famously stated that "The purpose of business is to create and keep a customer." Yet I’m frequently astonished at how much activity, attention, and money is devoted to organizational efforts that have little to no impact on customers (or whatever you call those who pay you). Think of all the “work” being done in your organization that is low value or valueless to those who are the source of your revenue. This includes projects and initiatives that take time and resources but don’t produce business results that matter. As a leader, get rigorous about priorities in two areas: 1) ensure that the right customers select you and 2) ensure the right customers stay with you. If your focus strays outside of those two categories, consider it a distraction.

Leadership in the World: Optimism or Pessimism in Financial Markets

As we look to 2023, many are predicting a recession on the horizon. The Institute for Supply Management service sector index fell from 56.5% to 49.6% in December, its first negative reading since early in the pandemic. (Numbers less than 50% are an indication that the economy is contracting.) On the other hand, it may be that the worst of inflation is over, the Federal Reserve may begin to pare the funds rate, and equities are undervalued, says the Wharton professor emeritus of finance Jeremy Siegel. 

What trends do you see in your industry sector or the markets you compete in? Ultimately you must make strategic choices about how you will grow your business whether there are headwinds or tailwinds. As I wrote in an article for HBR recently, we’re all familiar with the aphorism “A rising tide lifts all boats.” But just because the economy slows down doesn’t mean your business has to do the same. Plenty of organizations increase revenue, expand margins, and launch new products successfully in challenging economic times.

If you’d like to read more on the strategies I suggest in that article, you can find them here.

Perspective: Fresh Starts

I’ve always found January to be exciting: it’s full of possibilities for the new year. I take this fresh start seriously, and I have experimented with different approaches to resolutions, such as focusing on goals in different categories (physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual); tactics like “Keep doing, Stop doing, and Start doing”; conducting an annual review to select what was best and worst about the prior year; and other techniques. My resolutions have all worked and failed to varying degrees. 

But for the past few years, I’ve started a little slower and used January to think about what I really want to change or improve. Then I select just one or two things to work on, starting in February, so I can build some momentum. The reason most resolutions fail is trying to do too much and all at once. Instead, consider taking a slower approach. I often tell clients that they overestimate what they can accomplish in the next quarter or two, but underestimate what is possible in a year or 18 months. You may find that by springtime, you’ve started to make real progress by focusing on fewer goals.

Upcoming LinkedIn Live: The Leadership Resolutions That Work Best

Join me on Tuesday, January 24, at 10 am Eastern to discuss the most powerful leadership magnifiers I’ve seen, both in research and practice.