And Carrie On

For many of us, we are nearing the final week of the semester before the university shuts down over the holiday break.

This is one of my favorite times of the year because the pace slows. The emails come in much slower, the fires are less urgent, and it’s a great time to reflect on the year and plan for the next one.

Here are a few strategies to help you and your teams reflect and plan that I hope will be valuable as you begin winding down the final days on campus.

Three Strategies to Reflect

Make a list of accomplishments – I did this over Thanksgiving, and I was shocked at how much the team has achieved this semester. It’s incredible. When the pace slows, sometimes we feel guilty about not moving as fast. Looking back at what’s been accomplished really helps me to feel a sense of peace that it’s okay to slow down a little bit and celebrate the numerous wins the team has experienced.

Say Thank You – Find a personal way to say thank you to each member of your team for the work they’ve done over the semester. That might be a note, an office pop in, or something else, but it’s important to make sure each team member knows they’re valued. When doing this, I love including a key win or a major achievement the person has accomplished, and using the list of accomplishments helps me to remember them and better craft a heartfelt thank you message.

Digital Brags – Create a digital space where members of the team can individually contribute their own reflections each day during the final week. As the leader, you can provide prompts or questions related to achievements, challenges faced, and lessons learned during the semester. This asynchronous reflection allows team members to express their thoughts at their own pace, fostering individual introspection. It also allows for conversation as a team to recognize all the great things that have occurred in recent months.

Three Strategies to Plan for the New Year

In addition to reflecting, the final week is a great week to plan and prepare for the upcoming year with the team.

Share the Big Projects – Before heading out, make sure your teams know the big three projects for the upcoming semester. Research shows that our brains continue working on big ideas during moments of rest. Giving people the big projects allows their subconscious time to digest the project and be mentally prepared for it when they return. Giving the team this list early also helps people prioritize their final time in the office and better plan their first few days in the new year, so if they know this is a focus they may adjust other needs to best be able to support the big project.

Keep Schedules Clear – The final week is a great week to strategize big needs for the year, set timelines for key priorities, and clean out the emails and papers. Doing this before a holiday break allows people to leave their offices clean and fresh when they leave, and they mentally know where to begin when they return in January. As a leader, we can help our teams by protecting this time from random meetings. A colleague (looking at you Lana Fontenot) schedules a calendar hold as a way to protect her team’s time. Additionally, it’s our role to encourage this specific work of cleaning, organizing, and planning to help ensure our teams close the chapter on one year and begin the new year fresh.

Plan for Individual Growth – As leaders, the final week is also a great time to set expectations around personal growth. If this isn’t something that happens all year, this is a great time to begin a new habit. Ask each person to think about what are the skills and areas they are really strong in and what are the areas where they can improve. Encourage team members to be thinking of what goals they should be focusing on in the coming year. Because of all the planning happening, this is a great time to review the big projects and help each person understand how they play a key role in all the work that’s happening across the organization and set goals that will set them on the path to achieve both the institutional priorities but also their personal ones.

How Do You Close out the Year?

Just curious if this is similar to how you and your teams close out the year? If there are tried-and-true strategies your teams are using, I’d love to hear about it. Otherwise, cheers to a great final few days on campus and enjoy the time relaxing over the holidays!