Leadership Check-In

It’s Friday, it’s the end of the first full week of 2011. Hard to believe it passed so quickly — and yet, that’s what time does, right?  It passes.  Sometimes, given that time seems to pass quicker than you’d like, you can become so caught up in tasks and activities that you forget to check in and get your bearings.  Getting accurate bearings, however, is essential to being able to achieve whatever it is you’ve set out to achieve.

So, I want to invite you to take a moment right now and check in.  Based on what you accomplished during this first week of 2011, how are things shaping up?  Did things unfold as you anticipated?  Better?  Worse?  What do you need to do, how do you need to be going forward, in order to have 2011 be the year you want it to be?

These are the questions that merit being asked at any point on your leadership journey.  Transition points are wonderful opportunities for asking questions like these — the end of a day, a week, a month, a project — and, they can be asked whenever.  The point is that you’ve got to take stock from time to time.  Whether your leadership takes the form of being at the helm of a large corporation, the chair of a committee, or the head of a household, the only way you’ll be able to lead as effectively as possible is if you know where you’re at, relative to where you’re headed.

Bottom-line:  taking stock is essential to your leadership effectiveness.  So check in; evaluate; regroup as necessary; and keep on keepin’ on.  Happy leading!