3 Things To Rejuvenate, Reunite, and Rekindle Your Team After The Holidays
2023 Energy!
If you’re like me, you’re LOVING this new year energy! Anything’s possible! Clean slate! Let’s goooooo!!!!
But, not everyone is a rosy-cheeked optimist like me.
Some folks are…
- coming off a depressing holiday season.
- feeling deflated after getting to enjoy family and friends.
- exhausted from managing family visits through miserable winter travel conditions.
- generally bummed out from the sheer number of dark hours this time of year.
- sad they had to carry the work when others got loads of time off.
Your role as a leader means it’s up to you to rejuvenate, reunite, rekindle your team after the holidays. Here are a couple of ideas to help.
Words of the Year
Have them choose a Word of the Year that sets their intention for the next 12 months. We find that Words of the Year are more powerful than resolutions. Words are about an underlying feeling or desire. How that Word gets executed will be unique to each person.
Meg’s Word was Freedom a few years ago. She’s since had a baby, moved her household, and enrolled her kids in a new school district. None of that sounds like Freedom to me! But, that’s the point. Words can have individual meanings and intentions.
In a business context, it can be personally meaningful without getting personal.
We share our Word of the Year at our first team meeting of each year.
By asking your team to think of their Word, it allows people to look out beyond the day-to-day. It also allows people to think about leaving 2022 behind, if it was a tough year. If it was a great year for someone, it allows them to carry that energy forward into the next 12 months.
Plan for a team day of giving back.
We worked with an executive a few years ago, who was having a bit of a career crisis – he was feeling like he might be in the wrong role, not sure that all of his success meant as much as he thought it might. Our advice to him was to go out and make someone’s else’s day amazing. Pick a different person every week, and find ways to uplift their experience. It really helped break him out of his overthinking and got him back in touch with his team and what he really cared about.
Experiences bond people, even if it’s just a few hours helping other people. Years ago, a professional development group that I’m a part of got together and packed weekend food supplies for kids. It took about 2 hours, and we got to visit, laugh, and compete who could pack fastest (we’re kind of overachievers). We still talk about what a powerful experience it was to come together to help others.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day is only a few weeks away. It’s a great opportunity to make someone else’s day amazing. Don’t underestimate the power of goodwill to create lasting memories for your team.
Bring the right energy to the table.
We are social creatures and feed off each other’s’ attitudes. That’s why “one rotten apple spoils the barrel.” It’s why one toxic high performer can make everyone hate coming to work. It makes us think – if they can get away with poor behavior, why should I work so hard to do what’s right? On the other hand, I have seen the positive attitude of one team member turn around an entire team. Someone that comes in and smiles and is engaged and happy makes other people smile and want to be in the room.
I recently watched an old episode of Supernanny (yes, I love JoJo!). There was a family where the kids yelled at each other and at the parents. And guess where they learned it? From the parents, of course! Now, we always have to be careful in the workplace to compare us to family dynamics, but some things hold true. If you’re yelling, then expect your people to assume it’s okay to yell. (For the record, there is never an excuse to raise your voice. Period. If you find yourself yelling, it’s time to make a major change.)
So, it’s important to check your own energy. How are you doing? Are you optimistic? Are you checking in with your team? Are you valuing their contribution to the effort? Is your house in order?
If you’re not happy with how you’re showing up, decide to make a change. Get a coach. Get a massage. Start a gratitude journal. Do whatever it takes to give your team the support and leadership they need.
If you start off your New Year with the above steps, I promise your team will create massive opportunities for individual and team success. And that’s the kind of 2023 energy we all want!
