The new year’s arrival prompts an assessment of last year. My favorite evaluation model asks three core questions:
How was value created?
- Which strategies produced measurable, lasting results? Why did they succeed?
- Why did certain efforts fall short, and what adjustments are needed?
- How did our culture enable key wins?
- How aligned is my team on these insights, and how will this shape our plans?
How effective was my leadership?
- Which goals were achieved and why?
- When communicating, how consistently and clearly did I link immediate tasks to our strategic objectives and culture?
- Before deciding, and when circumstances allowed, how often did I seek input from my team, and affected stakeholders? Did this feedback produce more effective outcomes?
- How much time was invested in appreciation, recognition, and cultural reinforcement? Did I own poor results?
- When under pressure, did I remain calm, avoid over-reacting, and respond thoughtfully?
How much time did I invest in the future?
- How often did I engage customers to confirm value delivery, and identify evolving needs?
- Did I encourage employee initiative and cross-functional collaboration to drive improvement and innovation? How often did these efforts foster employee and culture development?
- How often did I look outside the organization to identify trends, learn, and explore new opportunities?
How might these questions enhance your past year’s assessment?