How to Have a Stellar 2022!
Cathie Leimbach • January 11, 2022
Are you ready for a stellar 2022? If not, you still have time to build a sound foundation for the year.
If you haven’t started your annual business plan yet, now is the time to:
- Sit down at the computer with your word processor open.
- Type out a few sentences that summarize what you wish your business to accomplish this year.
- Pick 3 key goals that are key to achieving success in your business. Set a measurable target for each.
- Reflect on how last year went for you. Type out the things you wish to continue doing, the things you will stop doing, and things you can start doing for 2022 to be even better than 2021.
- From your start and stop lists, pick the top 3 change areas to focus on this year. Since we have limited change energy, don’t try to make changes in more than 3 areas at once.
Once you have prepared your simple business plan, having a stellar year requires being intentional about your business activities every week and each day. This includes having a basic written plan for each week and each day, monitoring how well you implemented your plan, and gradually improving your implementation.
The steps of weekly and daily planning are simple:
- At the beginning of each week, read through your 3 key measurable goals and your 3 change areas.
- Write down the 3 tasks that are most important to complete this week to achieve your key goals.
- At the beginning of each day, write down the 3 most important things to do that day towards the week's most important tasks.
- Also, write down other things that need done as part of your regular business operations.
Monitoring and revising your plans can be simple, too:
- At the end of each day, review what you achieved, acknowledge your successes and identify things to do differently the next day.
- At the end of each week, review your achievements and develop your plan for the next week accordingly.
- At least monthly, review your progress towards your 3 key measurable goals and your 3 change areas.
- Revise your strategy if you aren’t making enough progress. Modify your big picture plan if you learn that your original plan isn’t realistic.
I wish you a stellar 2022! If you develop your plan, work your plan, monitor your plan, and revise your plan, you will be celebrating success a year from now!
Most leaders don’t struggle because they lack knowledge. They struggle because leadership opportunities show up in daily conversations —and those moments are easy to miss. The difference between average and high-performing teams often comes down to four leadership behaviors: 1. Build Trust Through Everyday Conversations Trust is built in small moments. Listen to concerns Ask thoughtful questions Follow through Address issues quickly and respectfully 🤝 Trust grows through consistent, everyday conversations. 2. Reinforce What Good Looks Like People repeat what gets recognized. Be specific: “I appreciated how you handled that client issue quickly—that made a difference.” 🔒 Clarity + recognition = stronger performance. 3. Address Problems Early—Kindly and Clearly Avoiding issues creates bigger ones. Keep it simple: What was expected? What happened? What needs to change? 👥 Clear, timely conversations reduce drama and improve results. 4. Support People So They Can Succeed Your role is to help your team succeed. Clarify priorities Remove obstacles Provide resources Coach progress 🔍 When people have clarity and support, performance follows. The Real Lever: Conversations None of this requires new systems. It happens in everyday interactions— 1:1s, quick check-ins, and follow-ups. Better conversations → better results. Quick Reflection Which one would make the biggest difference for you right now? Build trust Reinforce performance Address problems early Support success 👉 Join our next 60-minute Leadership Conversation – Inspiring Employee Performance on Monday, April 6, at 3:00 pm ET. Not a webinar. A working session with other leaders looking at what’s actually happening on their teams—and how small shifts in daily conversations change performance fast. If you're curious what even a 10% shift in consistency could look like for your team… this is a good place to start.
You don’t need to make big changes in your leadership practices to get better results. Often, it’s small shifts in everyday leadership conversations that quietly change how work gets done. Here are three that work: 1. Make priorities clear Start meetings by stating current priorities. That creates focus right away and helps conversations stay on topic. 2. Ask instead of solve Instead of answering an employee’s questions, ask, “What are your suggestions?” Such questions encourage employee thinking and stronger follow-through. 3. Hold short monthly one-on-one check-ins Meeting with each employee one-on-one allows the regular review of goals, progress, and obstacles. These short conversations surface issues early and keep everyone aligned. These small habits keep teams steady and focused. Your challenge this month: Pick one shift and try it. Notice what changes in clarity, buy-in, or accountability. Sometimes the difference between teams that struggle and teams that move smoothly comes down to a few simple leadership conversations happening consistently. 👉 Join our 60-minute Leadership Conversation on March 30th at 3:00 PM to see how small shifts in everyday leadership conversations can quickly improve clarity, ownership, and results.