So, you’re going to be a ‘new you’ this year, right?

You’re going to cycle to work, live on kale smoothies, kick caffeine for green tea, prioritise personal development, inspire your team with heartfelt wisdom, attend more events, meditate twice a day, set daily achievement goals…

…well, basically, you’re going to walk on water.

Wonderful.

I only have two questions.

Why? And how long do you think it will last?

In all my years of leadership, coaching and consultancy I see two problems with this all-in approach. (Other than boring all your friends and colleagues to tears about your new plan!)

Trap #1 – Thinking it’s all broken

I know, for a fact, you’re pretty good at what you do. Because a) I only mix with elite high-flyers (!) and b) you’ve been at this a few years.

There is ALWAYS something you could do to be better. You could be a better leader. You could manage your stakeholders better. You could manage your time better. You could keep better contact with your network. Great.

But here’s the secret – you’re never going to be perfect. Because nobody is.

So, take time to identify the improvements that really matter for you and your role. The things that would really power you forward.

Then, perhaps, you can accept the other stuff as delightful imperfections.
I know you’ve accepted mine!

Trap #2 – Trying to change it all at once

Habits are hard to change. There’s a multi-billion-dollar industry in books, subscriptions, classes and tools to help people create new ones.

So, unless you have some unknown plan or elixir that makes them easy (if so, I need to hear from you!), habits take work.

My advice – focus on one thing at a time. What’s the one thing that would improve your working life? The thing that would make your team, peers or stakeholders sit up and notice the new-improved-lemon-scented you.

Then focus on that. And only that.

And once you’ve nailed it, you can figure out your next focus area.

Trust me, it’s better to succeed at one important change than fail at twenty of them. Embrace that idea and feel the new year stress melting away like the snow.