What should you leave behind in 2023?
I'm sharing five leadership beliefs that belong in the past & some festive reading inspo
Happy nearly end of the year! Despite my misgivings about the “new year, new you” movement (I personally like to start my goals and resolutions before the mythical Jan 1 date), I recognise it’s still a great time to reflect on the year gone by and the year to come.
I hope you’re getting a festive break from work this year, so you can have that downtime for reflection, but if not, then try and take at least an hour - maybe go for a walk - and use it to guide your thoughts as you turn towards 2024.
For paid subscribers of Lead with Intention (once again thank you!), I’ve included a helpful worksheet to support your end of year professional reflections at the end of this newsletter. I use this approach to think about what i’d like to “clear” from my mind and my professional life, so I can make room for what’s to come. Try and it out let me know if it helps.
But for all of you who so kindly read and support this substack as free readers, I wanted to share my own reflections - as a leadership coach and someone who worked in corporate roles for more than 20 years - on ways you could all make 2024 your best year yet at work.
Think of it as a little light “Swedish death cleaning” (it’s not as scary as it sounds!) for your career, starting with what you want to discard or declutter.
Here are my thoughts - do you agree?
5 things aspiring leaders should leave in 2023
Believing that our hard work will speak for itself and that we don't need to put work into being "visible"
Tempting as this is to believe, it's not true. Investing in stakeholder relationships, learning to be authentically visible in our organisation and demonstrating the benefits of our work are the best ways to progress. Believe in yourself and your value. And show up to show your worth.
2. Activity or "output" based results
In 2024 you need to move to an outcomes-based model of objectives and results if you want to really impress the senior leadership team. This is about showing the impact of your work on the organisation and showing how you are moving things forward. And it's the quickest way to show your leadership bona fides too.
3. Rigid progression paths
Last week I was speaking to someone that wasn't a typical (or enthusiastic) people leader. However, they were fantastically skilled in their role and could do it to a level no-one else around them could. They were frustrated that the only leadership path available to them was a "traditional" people manager and then leader. That won't help this person maximise their true potential and I guarantee it's also not the best thing for those teams. Organisations need to shift from thinking this is the only way "up" they can offer and embrace a different type of leadership track.
4. Imposter syndrome for aspiring female leaders
If there was one thing I could make disappear for women in the workplace, it's this. The really good news is that there is something we can do about it and it starts with making more intentional choices as individuals and professionals, and in the way we choose to respond, engage and behave with others. (This is what coaching helps you do by the way and why I'm so passionate about it - it really works.)
5. Being asked to organise office whip-rounds for leaving presents, because you know, women are good at that stuff...
Let's all have a good old collective moan about this one! This stems from the perception that female professionals are automatically predisposed towards "domestic" tasks like this at work. If we want to be taken more seriously as leaders, we need to find ways to challenge those assumptions, constructively and with demonstrable skill and expertise.
What do you think? What are you prepared to leave behind as an aspiring leader in 2023? Does your list differ from mine? I’d love to know.
My festive leadership reading list
This is my top 10 leadership book list that I first shared in the summer. I’m desperate to do a new version and will be using my Christmas downtime to get on with some reading!
However, if you missed it first time around, it’s now available for everyone here, just click on the picture below. There are some stone cold leadership classics and also some unexpected picks.
Let me know if you’ve read any, or plan to after reading this list. And maybe share it with someone in your life who could use a little leadership inspiration, along with one of the books on the list. (You can also gift them a Lead with Intention substack too, a lovely thoughtful gift package!)
I hope you have a wonderful holiday, however you celebrate and take some time to rest, reflect and recharge. No newsletter next week, but I'll be back in January and will be doing semi-regular free posts, but with a ton of good stuff for paid subscribers. So if you’ve been thinking about it, now is a great time to invest for the year ahead.
See you on the flip side!
Louise
(paid subscribers can continue here to access the worksheet)