The end of a year brings with it performance reviews and sometimes even raises. It also gives us a chance review what we said we would do at the beginning of the year. We should be pretty good at taking stock of personal and collective achievements (and failures), as John, Mike and I have written about the art of reflection, giving and taking feedback, the art of difficult conversations, and setting bold goals. This is our year in review.
Our Year in Review
Early in 2014, Mike, John and I outlined our hopes, dreams and goals for a successful year. Well, the year’s gone by and now it is time for an honest appraisal of how we did and what we could do better in 2015. Since one of the simplest and most powerful tools to rate one’s performance is a self-assessment, we tested our commitments from the beginning of the year against our results and behviour-changes to date.
Did John Reach His Potential in 2014?
Yes (mostly).
“Achieving deep focus” was my commitment at the beginning of 2014 and achieving this goal has been the hardest easiest commitment in my life.
Let me explain.
Loving my son and being there for my family is my critical priority. Saying “no” – which has pretty much been a swearword for me in the past – was made easier when considering my family. Similarly, focusing on my work at Vancity and forging a deep connection to this organization has been easy. I know that I have the credit union’s culture and purpose in my DNA. So, focusing on Miles, Michelle and Vancity has been easy.
FACT: raising a child is hard no matter how focused you are. To say the least, I can always focus more on how to be a parent.
But there is always room for improvement. Here is a gem from the “room for improvement” category:
“I will know that 2014 has realized its potential when Vancity’s vision for healthy communities – and its role in fostering them – is taking shape in the Lower Mainland.”
This was a pretty arrogant statement, John from January 2014. Who am I to take credit for this outcome? Sure, through my managing of learning and leadership programs I did my part to align employees’ work to our vision, but my goal should’ve been appropriately – ahem – focused on outcomes for which I am directly responsible and that are within my control. Also, I said “yes” to too many things within Vancity that were awesome experiences, but that detracted from social commitments and opportunities for me to slow down, connect, relax, and drink less coffee. There are many people with whom I want to talk – not email or Facebook-comment – in 2015.
In conclusion, I give myself a B+ for my potential-realizing-performance in 2014.
Did Kurt Reach His Potential in 2014?
My three goals for 2014 were to get strategic, clearly communicate my expectations and continue to push the envelope (a bit). When I think of my work, life and extracurricular commitments, I’d say I was partially successful in all three, but there’s still plenty of work to do.
When it came to being strategic I think towards the end of the year I’ve been more successful in taking a step back and focusing on my “bigger picture”. Part of this has been a realization of the importance of mindfulness and part of it has been connected to the critical value of having a career aligned with one’s purpose. This sort of approach was only reinforced by an inspirational and enlightening retreat I participated in led by veteran leadership-guru Robert Gass.
Being communicative and clear on expectations is still something I want to work on. I believe I’ve made some progress in articulating my goals and expectations for success early on in projects. However, doing the final check in and round-up afterwards often still falls by the wayside as often I’ve already jumped onto the next task or project. In the New Year I need to do a better job of closing the circle and reflecting on the challenges and accomplishments of a job well done.
I think I’ve been largely successful in prioritizing innovation and avoiding accepting the status quo, particularly when working in leadership positions at various non-profit organizations. This has led to a feeling of momentum among my team members and a drive to push to the next level.
Did Mike Reach His Potential in 2014?
Focused on figuring out new ways to thrive in an intergenerational workforce, my goals were to get uncomfortable, get hands-on, and to get communicating.
I had a pretty great year on all of these fronts, even if it wasn’t always all that intentional.
I’ve moved into a role in municipal government as a manager of civic engagement and corporate projects. Working to encourage and facilitate engagement within a community has definitely forced me out of my comfort zone and led to some amazing experiences working with groups as diverse as it comes.
I’ve also worked far more in the in-person realm, bridging ideas and groups where technology based tools wouldn’t do the job.
There have been a few really notable benefits to changing up my job and really pushing a different style. I’ve met a great number of fantastic people across my new home community, I’ve developed some really neat systems for bridging the digital/in-person divide when it comes to engagement and research, and I’ve learned from people across the demographic spectrum.
It’s been both fun and frustrating, but across the board I’m a better person for the experience and I’ve developed a great set of tools for addressing really complex situations in our communities.