Before You Race Toward Year-End, Look Back
Progress is easier to see when we stop long enough to notice it.
By late October, it's easy to start looking ahead.
Year-end targets. Budgets. Planning. Projects that still need to be finished. Goals for next year.
The list of what's left can quickly overshadow everything that's already been accomplished.
So before the year-end sprint really begins, I think there's value in asking your team one question:
What are we doing better today than we were in January?
Maybe communication has improved.
Maybe a new leader has found their footing. A difficult project finally came together. The team is handling conflict differently. Someone who needed coaching nine months ago is now coaching someone else.
Not every meaningful accomplishment appears on a spreadsheet.
Taking time to recognize progress isn't about patting ourselves on the back or losing momentum.
It's about reminding people that their effort has actually taken them somewhere.
There's still plenty of year left.
But before focusing entirely on the distance still ahead, take a moment to recognize how far your team has already come.
Progress deserves to be noticed, too.
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