Draw an X/Y axis on a sheet of paper. Label the vertical axis “Support” and the horizontal axis “Challenge”. Rate your team on how well they support each other and how effectively they challenge each other. For example, if your team is strong at both, you would make an entry somewhere in the upper right quadrant. Think about where you would like to see your team improve on these factors and make an entry (in a different color) on the axis that identifies that goal.
The next time you find yourself needing to make a difficult decision, perform an alternatives analysis. Come up with at least three possible solutions and run a full analysis of what outcomes those would lead to. Be sure to calculate cost, resources, time, and any other elements that will help you fully flesh out what each alternative would entail.
If you are an individual contributor, think about who you take your directions from. Is it one person, or do multiple people give you activities to perform? Do these directions ever conflict with each other? If you are a supervisor, think about this question from the perspective of your direct reports. Are they receiving directions only from you, or do they ever express uncertainty over which tasks take priority?
Divide a sheet of paper into four quadrants. Above the top two quadrants, write “Me” and “My Employer”. To the left of quadrant one and three, write “Pros” and “Cons”. Enter your personal pros and cons for working from home and your employer’s pros and cons for you working from home.
Think about a problem that you are currently working to solve. Consider what you might do differently if you had to solve this problem in half the time of your current deadline. Then consider what you might do differently if you had endless resources to throw at it. Did any new strategies come to mind as you worked on this challenge?
Make a list of at least three things that defined success to you in the early days of your career. How has your definition of success changed over the years?
Sketch out a simple diagram of all your customers. This diagram only needs to make sense to you but should include any people or entities that buy/use your products or services. Designate which are your primary customers and how your product/service solves their needs.
Think of someone you know who has excellent entrepreneurial skills and identify the top three skills that you think contribute to their success as an entrepreneur. Which of these skills are you strong in and which could be stronger?
Over the next week, put together a short survey to send to your team, asking them whether they believe they’re treated fairly. Keep in mind that you’re likely to get more honest answers if the survey is anonymous.
When is the last time you celebrated a success with your team and rewarded them in some way for a job well done? If the time you’re thinking about was more than a month ago, brainstorm a couple of ways you could recognize their work over the next two weeks.
