A New Year with New Priorities - Who Owns Them?

What are your new resolutions for 2021? The start of the new year is usually the opportunity to rethink our priorities, to trigger new behaviour, and to create a new, positive momentum for personal growth.

In the last few days, while asking people about their 2021 priorities, I heard a few times the same thing: "I need to see what my boss tells me". And to be honest, I was a bit shocked. Who is owning your priorities?

Here is what I think: work is part of our life; a considerable part of our life and our well-being and our achievements in our job is defining the success we feel in our entire life. Therefore, I think it is important to first understand what we want to achieve in our life overall. In 10, 20 years, what is the life we want to look back at? What are the fundamental values that define me as a person.

Based on this we can then see how our current work fit into our life ambition. How does our career contribute to the betterment of ourselves? In this sense, now at the start of the year, I suggest to start to think in two steps:

1. Define your own northstar
2. Align the goals of others to your northstar

Important, the latter doesn't mean you are changing your own goals. Rather, you trying to fit these external priorities into your own. And typically, there are three scenarios. A) these priorities match mine; great! B) Oh, I was not thinking about these goals; and great, they allow me to reach my long-term ambition. C) Wow, this is not really what I want to do; let me see who is better at following up with these objectives. This courage to stand for your own priorities and to delegate is important because it will allow you to focus your energy on the things you are excited about and gives other people the opportunity to follow their passion. Which will lead to improved overall outcome.

Start 2021 with a new resolution: take ownership and be proactive!