New Year Resolutions of a Manager - National HRD Network

It's that time again when we greet each
other 'Happy New Year'! It starts from the
last week of December and is said & heard
for at least the first couple of weeks in
January. The more exuberant & enthusiastic
of us may continue with the greeting way
beyond, if only for the merry smiles & oodles
of warmth it brings. It is quite remarkable to
think of how on a single day, every place
and everyone across the globe join in the
rejoicing of a momentous occasion that
interestingly has no astronomical or other
significance and a purely arbitrary day
bestowed upon us by the Romans. Thus,
another year in the Gregorian calendar
becomes history, making way for yet another
- a fresh beginning all over again.
While the season brings many traditions that
have been handed to us from generation to
generation, one that probably has impacted
each one of us, some year or the other, is
the making of New Year Resolutions. Indeed,
as the curtains fall on one period of 365 days
of our lives in this planet, the time seems
ripe to get into a mood of introspection - to
reflect upon the year gone by, consider
what's worked/not worked in our personal/
professional lives, hits & misses, joys &
sorrows and chalk out a broad plan for not
only the coming year, but also the near
future.
According to the online Wikipedia, a New
Year's Resolution is a commitment that an
individual makes to a project or a habit, often
a lifestyle change that is generally
interpreted as advantageous. The name
comes from the fact that these commitments
normally go into effect on Jan 1 and remain
until the set goal has been achieved.
Many New Year Resolutions involve
maintaining peak vitality, fitness or
appearance. For example, one person's goal
might be to reduce or eliminate intake of
alcohol or smoking. A student may make
one of staying attentive in class or complete
her assignments. It can also be eating
moderately or going on a fitness regime.
Then, there are those that involve society
as a whole, e.g. making donations to the
poor, become more environmentally
responsible.
Ring out the Old, Ring in the New:
New Year Resolutions of a Manager
Column
Alas, for most of us, the intentions to carry
them out definitely exist, but they go
unachieved and are often 'broken' fairly
shortly after they are set, depending on how
much of a challenge and 'stretch' you have
set for yourself.
In business parlance, a New Year Resolution
can be considered as an example of the
rolling forecast or a method of planning. By
this method, you establish plans for yourself
at regular short or medium term time
intervals, while having a rough long term
plan. Most organizations conduct their
business planning processes and finalize
& cascade the final annual strategies &
plans to employees in Q4 of the year. These
provide key inputs into individual objective
setting. Years of practice has enabled the
organizations to perfect this into a fine art,
so we do not need to delve too much into
this.
What we probably do not do a good job of is
to set a personal commitment on behavior/
habit change that would improve our
effectiveness as managers & leaders. Yes,
we do have developmental tools & processes
like the 360 degree feedback, career
management resources that guide & support
us in taking such commitments. But like New
Year Resolutions, it becomes an uphill task
to stay focused on them throughout the year,
especially as one has to juggle several
conflicting priorities and stay in a perpetual
state of stress & anxiety, caused by many
factors like speed-to-market, tight budgets/
resources, war for talent.
Ask yourself, when was the last time you
were 100% stress free and felt as free as
a bird?
But, surely as managers who are beginning
the year 2007, there are some things we
can do to increase our productivity while
lowering stress and reflect a year down with
satisfaction about the progress we've made
on them and how we are already beginning
to feel the benefits coming in. Here are five
potential New Year Resolutions for
Managers. The good news is you don't have
to do all of them. Choose the ones that fit
for you. And let me know how it goes.
Madan Srinivasan
No.1: Define Daily Goals
Many managers leave at the end of the day
feeling like they've been running in place --
the to-do list is as long as it was at the start
of the day -- maybe even longer. One of the
reasons managers feel stressed is that there
is no end to the work they can do -- and it's
never all done.
Counteract the endless to-do list by creating
daily goals. Spend 20 minutes each Friday
afternoon reviewing your activities and
deliverables for the next week. Create a plan
for the week and identify what you want to
accomplish each day. Leave yourself some
slack, because you know something will
come up.
Cross off the items as you get them done. If
you finish before the end of the day, you
can declare success or choose to start a
task slated for the next day. Either way, you'll
leave with a feeling of accomplishment.
No. 2: Build a Personal Measurement
Program
Many people think they know where they
spend their time during the workday; most
of them are surprised at what the data
shows. Make a daily log with half-hour
increments. Track your activities for two
weeks. Discover for yourself where you
spend your maximum time. Do not be
surprised if you are spending 50-60% of
your time in Category C items like locating
data, files and papers, catering to ad-hoc
requests, responding to irrelevant emails,
etc.
If you do care about spending time on highvalue
activities, organize yourself in such a
way that you can make it a reality.
Continuously monitoring yourself will give
you some hard data on where the hours go.
You can also capture how you experience
your day by asking yourself:
Madan Srinivasan, President, Organization Capabilty Pepsi Co India Holding Pvt Ltd., Guraon. He can be reached at:
Madan.Srinivasan@intl.pepsico.com
l
l
On a scale of 0-9, how would you rate
your satisfaction at the end of each day?
On a scale of 0-4, rate how much value
you receive for the time you spend in
each meeting.
| HRD News Letter | January 2007, Vol.22, Issue:10 6|