Managers’ Top Ten Resolutions for the Year

Conducted each year, the CMI’s annual Future Forecast report asks managers to reflect on their experiences of the past year as well as the management challenges and expectations for the year ahead.

Amongst the findings the report explains the top 10 personal resolutions managers are making this year to ensure personal and organisational success.

You can find the full report here: www.managers.org,uk/resolutions

Managers’ Top Ten Resolutions for the Year

No real surprises here, perhaps… but what struck me in reading the report was how ALL of these intentions would be powerfully served by an understanding of the inside-out nature of the human experience.

I realise that I sound like the carpenter who only has a hammer, and therefore thinks every ‘problem’ looks like a nail.

But I’m convinced that this understanding (see http://www.kaizen-training.com/the-heart-of-thriving/ for a description) really can make the biggest difference. Why? Because I have seen it happen over and over again with real clients over the past few years.

When we insightfully experience new thinking about something, it changes the game, and leads to sustainable transformation.

As you read the list of resolutions again, ask yourself: what gets in the way of doing these things? I think the answers are all very similar: a perceived scarcity of time, fears, insecurities and self-doubt, a lack of clarity, the egoic need to control everything and everybody, old and stale thinking.

Here’s just one example from this list of resolutions – a true story about one of my clients, and my hope is you’ll begin to see how the understanding impacts on all ten of them.

Find ways to become more productive

When are we most productive? When we have clarity about what’s most important – and the energy to take the necessary actions. When we are plugged in to our infinite creative potential. When we have quietish mind, the next step is usually obvious. When we are not plagued by self-doubts, fears, worries and insecurities.

David’s wife is terminally ill with cancer. He’d been something of a self-described workaholic all his life – and was very ‘successful’ in his business career. He was feeling a strong pull now, though, to cut down the time spent working, so that he could be with and support his wife. At the same time, his business remained important to him, and he also felt a commitment to continue to serve several of his clients. He asked for coaching about how to resolve this dilemma.

At first, David was up in his head, feeling the stress that accompanies this type of noisy thinking. He shared his anguish – feeling pulled in two directions at once. He was living in the future, experiencing this scenario and then that one. He was full of fear about making the ‘wrong’ decision, and then spending the rest of his life regretting it. After a while, as I pointed him in the direction of understanding where his experience was coming from, he quietened down, and became very calm, clear and present. The difference was amazing. We sat in a comfortable, easy silence for several minutes.

“It’s obvious…” and he smiled for the first time.

The next week, he made arrangements to only work three days a week. He handed some clients over to a couple of perfectly capable colleagues. A couple of months later, David reports that somehow he now seems to ‘get more done’ in three days than he used to working six days a week. He is enjoying caring for his wife, and feeling grateful for whatever unknown time they still have together.

One of the things I hear over and over from clients is “Where has all this time suddenly come from?”, as their understanding deepens about how they are creating their own experience, moment to moment. They still get as much (or more) done in a day – but somehow the pressure, the stress, the constant inner voice shouting “not enough time, not enough time” has disappeared.

And I’ve certainly experienced this myself too. The understanding I’m sharing now is not about withdrawing from the world, and meditating in a cave all day (Do that too much and people come and take your furniture away!)

Far from it. There’s a spaciousness, an abundance, an ease – which is so much more productive in getting things done.

We begin to tune in more and more to our own wisdom, which is always going to be more creative, more resourceful and more intelligent than our stressful, busy mind.

From that state of mind, wouldn’t you just naturally do the things that you knew were important for you and your organization? Like these resolutions on the list:

• Develop yourself professionally
• Coach and develop others
• Network more widely
• Get a healthier work-life balance
• Set a strong example on ethics and integrity at work
• Communicate clearly about what you expect from your team
• Reduce time wasted in unnecessary meetings and e-mails

I’d love to hear your thoughts on all this. And, if you’d like a conversation about how this understanding could be transformative for you – do get in touch.