A New Resolution Approach for Every Leader

Are you tired of breaking your New Year’s resolution before the first month of the year is over? Or are you looking for a more empowering process? Let me suggest a different resolution approach every leader should consider.

To be clear, you can use a conventional method to declare your New Year’s resolutions with attainable goals. Maybe you just need to reset your personal goals. That’s OK for some people. However, some of us need to begin with the end in mind instead of focusing on lofty goals we will most likely break.

We just laid my Dad, Ferdie Joseph Germain, to rest (2/3/39 – 12/15/23). Family and friends reflected and celebrated his life at a memorial service.  I was blessed to see the consistent message about the man who was my first leadership coach. One speaker challenged my siblings and me to learn from our Dad’s life and think about what legacy we want to leave behind. 

Although I had already documented my life’s mission and purpose I took the challenge a step further. I turned it into a new resolution approach every leader should reapply and made it more personal. That is, to think about what I would like to write about myself at the end of the year. My reason for focusing on a self-assessment rather than what others think is simple. I’m assessing an aspiration that may be too difficult for others to understand or accept.

Before diving into the mechanics of the approach, allow me to share verbatim a snippet of the comments I recorded from the speakers who reflected on the impact my dad had on them. I added the leadership quality in brackets. After all, this is a leadership blog.

1. Dad’s pastor said, “He had the heart of a servant.” (Servant Leadership)

2. Many speakers used the following words: “He was a hard worker.” (Bias for Action)

3. A long-time friend said, “He inspired me to reach for more and do better.” (Inspirational Leader)

4. A close friend said, “He made everyone feel they were important and his most special person.” (Compassionate)

5. A mentee said, “He knew how to pull me aside and correct me in a way that I knew he cared.” (Feedback)

Wow. These are reflections I’d love written on my tombstone. What about you?

Let’s reduce the period from a lifetime to just one year. What would you like to say about how you lived your life as a leader throughout this year?  

Let’s go another step and make it actionable. What if we documented what we would like to write about ourselves at the end of this year? Instead of a New Year’s resolution, we can make that our 2024 aspiration.

I’ll start. I created mine in two pillars. Every year, I selfishly think about what I want to improve about myself. This year, I’ll make it one pillar for “Others” and one for “Community”. At the end of this year, I would like to look in the mirror and say that:

• (Others) As a leader, I was a blessing to everyone in my influence and made a significant impact on other’s lives.
• (Community) As a role model, I increased my contribution to environmental sustainability.

What about you? What aspiration would you want to fulfill this year? What would you want to say about yourself when you reflect on your life and leadership at the end of this year?

Switch from chasing unattainable goals to aspiring to a state of being or declaring an aspiration. In that way you won’t beat yourself up for breaking your new year’s target. You would simply need to refocus on your aspiration at the next opportunity.

The Aspirational Resolution Approach

Here is a suggestion if you don’t know where to start.

1. List three words or phrases you want to represent your life at the end of the year. It could include things you want to improve, strengthen, or continue. As an example, one could be, Be a better listener.

2. Think about a role model who embodies that word or phrase. Write down how that word applies to that person. Using our example, John takes time to listen without interrupting me.

3. Tailor what you write to match your personality and style in the present tense, just as you would tell it to yourself one year from now. For example, when my employees speak to me, I ask at least one question to signal I’m listening and not busy interrupting them.

4. Document your aspiration and post it prominently to remind you of it.

Pro-Tip: Don’t write what you think others expect of you. Write what you believe is right for you.

This does not only apply to New Year’s resolutions. It can apply to any new beginning, starting a new job, a new phase in life, or a new period.

The Power of the Aspirational Resolution Approach

1. It prevents you from beating yourself because it’s not a weight on your shoulders that keeps getting heavier.

2. It’s more empowering than chasing after a goal. Instead of focusing on losing weight, aspire to live a healthier lifestyle. A healthier weight will be an outcome.

3. It’s less stressful than the guilt of breaking a resolution because it’s an aspiration that makes you feel good about the journey of aspiring to it.

Every leader must aspire to new beginnings because change is inevitable.  Approach the growth of new opportunities in an empowering way to guarantee better success over conventional methods.

Empowered Leader Reflection

What would you want to say about your life as a leader when you reflect on it at the end of this year?

Would you help us grow by sharing your thoughts in the Reply section below?