3 Habits to Set Your Organization Up For Success This Year

You've already determined this year's priorities, goals, plans, and budget. I'm guessing you've already communicated them with everyone in your organization, too. (If not, let's talk.)

But even when those guidelines for what your org WILL focus on are communicated effectively, the things that thwart success are the unexpected - and often self-imposed - barriers created when those plans meet reality.

Here are 3 habits and tools you can adopt this month to significantly increase your organization's chance of success this year and avoid common pitfalls:

1. Regular Integration & Alignment Meetings

If your senior leadership team - chiefs, VPs, senior directors - isn't already meeting regularly for an intentional integration and alignment meeting, now's the time to set one up.

These meetings aren't standard check-ins. They are designed to increase collaboration, review plan progress, seek out areas for streamlining & simplification to free up staff time & resources, and discuss opportunities & challenges with candor and a solution-finding mindset. Certain initiatives may be put on hold. Others may be accelerated. Adjust plans in a way that will make it easier to achieve your intended impact.

2. What Can Wait? and Stop Lists

Strong strategy isn't just about what you will do, it's about what you intentionally choose not to do. In times of significant organizational change, it is both normal and expected for productivity to drop. Being very clear about what you're stopping altogether - and what can wait for now - is essential to providing clarity to the teams who are carrying out day-to-day work.

How do you know where to start when determining what to stop? Ask your teams to look at recurring work, reporting, meetings, or events and nominate "stop" or "what can wait" items that would free up their time to focus on 2025 priorities. Their feedback will ensure their input is included and give you valuable data about how to improve ways of working for this year - and beyond.

3. Celebrations that Connect the Dots

Celebration is a critical factor in creating and solidifying new habits. Genuine celebration along the way toward a goal increases the chance you'll reach it. Build celebration moments into the regular rhythms of your work by having supervisors collaborate with their teams on the kinds of celebrations that fit their team's vibe (and then following through as progress is made). Encourage department heads to dedicate a portion of their budget to thoughtful celebration and recognition as a key enabler of success.

What tools are you using to increase your org's success this year? Join the conversation on LinkedIn.