How to Keep the Good Start of the Year Feels, Last all Year…
People I’ve connected with in the last couple of weeks, talk about how their teams in a good headspace, everyone’s come back from holidays refreshed, more patient and understanding of each other and in a good space. Things feel lighter. Calmer. More human.
And every time I hear this, I find myself asking the same question. How do we protect this feeling once the pace picks up? Because if one this is for certain, the pace really picks up.
And we know what often happens next…
By April, the patience thins.
By winter, energy dips.
By the end of the year, we’re talking about burnout and the need for another reset.
The good headspace doesn’t disappear; we just stop paying attention to it… we get busy.
My challenge to you is this: instead of assuming this early-year energy will fade on its own, what would it look like to maintain it consciously?
How do you want the team to feel to when they are doing their best work?
What rituals, behaviours or actions are needed to support that?
What are you going to do so you notice when things start to drift?
Not perfectly and not all the time, these changes don’t need to be front of mind, but, as a leader, it does need to be a conscious thought. The goal should be to become more aware of the `why’ and try and avoid the sharp drop-off that so many teams experience.
Holidays aren’t the strategy
We don’t have to just have holidays as the solution to “righting” everyone’s stress levels and overload. And while breaks absolutely matter, they can’t be the only reset button we rely on. There’s so much more that we can do on regular cadence to keep on track, reset, check in and keep aligned during the year. Small check-ins, honest conversations and moments of pause can help recalibrate the team and regain the focus.
When we build those moments in intentionally, we don’t need to rescue wellbeing later. We support it as we go.
What we pay attention to grows
We all do better work, collaborate and make better decisions when we feel calm, focused, trusted, and safe to speak – these are desired emotions that help us be more resilient when pressure shows up, make clearer decisions and be productive in a team environment.
That’s not abstract or “nice to have”. It has a very real impact on performance, retention, and outcomes. And the leaders who sustain this aren’t doing more, they are paying attention to different things, keeping aware of their team dynamics and energy levels and acting on it.
If you’re not sure how to do this and feel authentic with your team, reach out and we can discuss various options of how we can take this people centred approach to performance and outcomes for businesses.