Closing time for 2020
Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end. Photo by Waldemar Brandt on Unsplash
One of my favourite trivia questions is this:
How many times in history have New Year's Eve and New Year's Day fallen in the same year?
About half of the people I ask that will say never. The answer is the opposite. Those are the last and first days of every calendar in every year. Because of the sequence that it is worded, that question gives the impression of them inherently being in different years. It's an easy mistake to make and is usually clear to people when they stop and think about it.
It reminds me of the lyric from Semisonic's 1998 hit, Closing Time. My favourite line from that song is this...
"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end"
For our teams, the start of 2021 will be impacted by the way that we finish 2020.
So often, teams underplay the influence of what has come before on how they operate. Perhaps the strongest force acting on a team's way of working is inertia - the tendency to continue in the same direction as we have been going.
The practical implication of this is that we can do some work during the rush to "gather up your jackets and move it to the exits" of 2020 that we will benefit from in 2021. Without that, there is the likelihood that we walk back into work that has a new year's hangover. You know? That feeling of wondering if you have had a break at all - and it's only lunchtime on your first workday of the year. Most teams have been there.
In order to return with a spring in our step, optimism and energy that a new calendar offers us, we can do some work individually and collectively to make sure that next year's beginning comes from a strong end to this year. There are many ways that you can do this. Here are three quick suggestions. Each of these can be done individually or with your team. mn
Do a "Proud Cloud"
I literally heard of this term for the first time this morning as my daughter showed me some of her school work from the year. It's a great idea to reflect on what you have achieved in 2020. You don't have to do it in a cheesy primary school type way - any meaningful way that you do your reflection will work.
It has been a beast of a year and, with a high degree of confidence, my guess is that you and your team have achieved things or worked in ways that you would not have expected. While many plans have been derailed and your plans from January now look like some sort of ancient artefact, there are also many things that teams have done that they can be rightly proud of. Reflecting with a deliberately positive lens is a way to feed optimism into the start of next year and build your team's belief in their ability to be resilient.
2. Lighten the cognitive load
If the work that you do permits some control over your schedule, set aside some time to work without the need or expectation to respond to messages, emails, chat or phone calls. This is a chance to tie up loose ends and rid yourself of a few of those things that have been taking up space in your inbox (and the back of your mind). This one is particularly powerful if your whole team does it together. Even a couple of hours can make a huge difference. Capacity is one of the biggest constraints on team performance and anything that frees up team capacity will support your performance.
3. Leave loudly
I've borrowed this concept from an article that I read about the approach that PepsiCo CEO in Australia/New Zealand apparently encourages. While this is about a day to day leaving of the office, the concept is relevant at the end of the year (even when there is no office). Having some sort of process where individually or collectively your team leaves work for the year is powerful. The goal is to mark the end of the working year for 2020 and encourage people to refrain from logging on (both physically and mentally).
The best way for a team to feel like they haven't had a proper break is if they haven't had a proper break! Encourage, role model and support a detachment from work - physically and cognitively if possible. The leaving loudly article also mentions discouraging out of hours emails and within the bounds of your operational requirements, this is another way to support your team to return to work refreshed.
These are three of many ideas that you can adopt in the next few days to set yourself up for 2021. I hope they help. Some questions for you to consider in your teams:
How do you want to start 2021?
What can you do in December 2020 that will your team be grateful for in January 2021?
I'll have one more post next week before a couple of weeks off. In case you are one of the many people that is wrapping up this week, I'd like to say thanks so much for your energy, attention and time in 2020. I'm looking forward to keeping in touch throughout 2021.