The end of the year will be here soon…but it’s not over yet! We still have three weeks left before we cross the 2017 finish line. What are you planning to do with that time?

December is a month filled with distractions at work and home. It’s easy for us to justify slowing down for a few weeks. If we’ve exceeded our goals for the year, the negative voice in our head tells us we deserve to take a break. If we’ve fallen short of our expectations, the negative narrative sounds more like, “If you can’t reach your goals this year, why keep trying?”

While most positive leaders have developed the habit of finishing the year strong, I believe all of us have co-workers, clients, family members, and friends who have mentally shut down for the year. For those individuals, the holidays will not be as happy as they could be.

One of a leader’s top priorities is to make sure those they lead and love make the effort to do the best they’re capable of doing every day. That responsibility doesn’t end during the holidays.

If you know someone who may be giving up early this year, help that person set one meaningful goal they can accomplish between now and the end of the year. It could be completing a project they started but never finished, improving a relationship that was damaged, or developing a new positive habit. Any worthy goal they pick will work.

If you’ll make the time to meet one-on-one with this person each week for the next three weeks to talk about what they’re doing well and encourage them to keep moving forward to accomplish the goal they set, you’ll really make this a December to remember for you and them.

Let’s Get Better. Together! Bill Durkin