I don’t know about you, but we love a good “year-in-review” list. There’s something about looking back over the entire year and seeing what stands out. More than the list itself, it’s the conversation that it provokes that each of us finds compelling: “Really, that was your favorite…. interesting.” “Oh, I almost forgot about that one. That WAS a big deal.”

What are your year-in-review highlights? How would your highlight reel compare to the year-in-review highlights from your team?

A “what stands out” conversation can be a great team builder for your end-of-year meeting, or to enhance your December one-on-ones.

7 Questions to Help Your Team Reflect on the Year

Here are a few questions to help you facilitate a year-in-review conversation.

1. What are your personal bests?

One fun way to do personal bests is to give your team a list of potential “best ofs” to choose from, and have each team member pick one or two personal bests to share.

Best…

• Day (this one can be a lot of fun, and great for storytelling).
• Accomplishment (it’s always interesting to see which people choose– it’s a great indicator of what matters most to them).
• Contribution to the Team (also interesting to see what people see as their “best of,” and, of course, this can set the table for additional gratitude).
• Customer Win (it’s easy for “going the extra mile” for customer stories to go unnoticed. Here’s a chance to share.
• Idea (Celebrate the I.D.E.A.s (the remarkable ones), and even the great ones you were not able to use.
• Comeback (Filling the room with great come-back stories is always energizing).
• Collaboration (This is a chance to talk about when teamwork was at its very best)

Of course, a good follow-up question is… what made these best-ofs so great? And how do we get more of that next year?

2. Which of our projects/efforts/contributions was most impactful to the organization?

This is a great way to help your team consider how their work aligns with your organization’s strategic priorities.

This works well, even for frontline employees who may not be involved in projects with a capital “P.” Invited them to talk about ways they have contributed to improving results.

The natural follow-up conversation is to talk about how your team can continue to contribute in meaningful ways.

3. How have you grown this year personally and professionally?

Probes: In what areas have you developed? What development and training were the most impactful? What new skills did you learn? Which areas of your performance have most improved?

4. Who helped you most this year? How? What difference did it make?

Even if you’ve already thanked someone, you can’t go wrong with including gratitude in your year-in-review. A quick lightning round of this question is a great meeting starter.

5. What’s your biggest lesson learned?

What did you learn and how? How will you apply that learning in the future?

6. What would you do differently if you were to live this same year again?

Closely related to the lesson learned, this question is a good one to set the stage for strategic changes, priorities, and new habits for next year.

7. What important question should we add to our year-in-review discussion?

This question empowers your team to identify specific areas they would like to talk about as part of the end-of-year review.

We would love to hear from you. What questions would you include in an end-of-year review?  What would you include in your best of highlight reel?

The post Year-in-Review: 7 Questions to Help Your Team Reflect on Success and Key Learnings appeared first on Let's Grow Leaders.

When it comes to building a network of strategic advisors, it’s natural to look to people with more position power, access, and influence as your primary go-to’s. Yes, you want a productive relationship with your boss, a mentor who will challenge you, and—if you’re really lucky—a genuine sponsor opening doors. But don’t overlook the importance of a network of strong peer relationships.

4 Vital Peer Relationships To Nurture

• • An Encourager
  • A Challenger
  • An Advocate
  • A Technical Advisor

  

  Whenever anyone asks me what leadership lessons I wished I’d learned sooner, I always have the same response.

  “I wish I’d invested in deeper and more meaningful peer relationships way sooner than I did.”

  This goes beyond, “having a best friend at work,” (which according to Gallup only 30% of us have— which is too bad— since those who do are more engaged and productive).

  I’m talking about having a deep network of strategic advisors to help you win.

  It’s natural to focus on building a great relationship with your manager. And of course, as a human-centered leader, you focus on connecting with and developing your team.

  But a deliberate investment in go-to coworker relationships matters just as much (or even more).

  And the good news is that, unlike your manager, who is who they are (and may or may not be able to give you all the support you need), you likely have a number of peers to choose from.

  So, you can gather your go-to peer relationships based on what they do best. And you can leverage what you do best to help them.

  Here are four key peer relationship players to get you started. What would you add?

  1. An Encourager

  This is the peer you can trust to pick you up when you’re feeling down. You can vent about setbacks and they’ll remind you how wonderful you are.

  They’re your “You’ve got this” go-to.

  If you’re not getting the appreciation or recognition you crave, your encourager can help you feel seen for who you are, what you’re contributing, and remind you of how important all that is.

  Your encourager will shut the door and let you be a bit vulnerable, so you can face your team (or boss … or that mean dude in the other department) with confidence.

  2. A Challenger

  When it comes to peer relationships, your challenger plays quite a different role from your encourager. While your encourager reminds you of how smart you are, your challenger asks tough and courageous questions that really make you think.

  “Are you sure that’s the best approach?”

  “Have you considered what would happen if you just stopped doing that?”

  “What did you learn from that mistake?”

  When you ask your challenger how you could have presented that I.D.E.A. more effectively, you can count on her to tell you the truth.

  3. An Advocate

  An executive sponsor is great, but let’s face it, they’re not always around. And you don’t want to be consistently running to them asking for their help. Having an advocate or two in your peer relationships network can really make a difference.

  Advocates serve a variety of roles, from bolstering your reputation, “You know who’s the best at this?” to bringing up your name for special projects or opportunities.

  Of course, if you want folks to advocate for you, the best approach is to be a staunch advocate for others.

  4. A Technical Advisor

  Even if you’re the best at what you do, it’s always good to build peer relationships with someone who is even better at the technical aspects of your role.

  They’re up on the latest industry trends. Or perhaps they’ve got tons more experience, or they’re fresh out of school with a different perspective. Maybe they’re just wicked smart.

  Your technical advisor might not be the best encourager, or may even be a bit rough around the edges, but they’ll help you to get it right.

  How to Build These Important Coworker Relationships

  Of course, building genuine peer relationships starts with generosity. Need a technical advisor? Start by considering what you may offer them. Maybe you can be an encourager or an advocate for them before you seek out their technical expertise.

  Back in my Verizon days, one of my favorite peers, Dan, and I were always advocating for one another—but for completely different things. He was my technical expert— he knew everything about the network and call center operations. And I was his HR and team development sounding board. AND, we were constantly bringing up one another’s names when we saw opportunities that were a great fit.

  Highly reciprocal. But not forced. And heck yeah, if Gallup had asked, I would have said I had a best friend at work. And yes, we were both highly productive and engaged.

  Things to Learn about Your Trusted Coworkers

  Of course, relationships like this need to evolve, but a bit of deliberate conversation can help. Here are few things to work to know about the people with whom you’re working on investing in deeper peer relationships.

  • What’s their MIT (Most Important Thing) that they’re working on (and why is that so important)?
  • Who is important to them in their lives (significant others, friends, pets)?
  • What’s challenging them or frustrating them?
  • How do they like to communicate?
  • What do they need from you (how can you best help)?
  • How can they best help you? (And have you asked for it?)

  Your turn. I’d love to hear your stories of great peer relationships. How did you help one another?

  

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