Are you and your executive team geared for the year?

The first month of 2018 has passed; resolutions been made and now’s the time to focus your thoughts on your goals for the year – and how well you and your team are positioned and resourced to achieve them.

The first question to ask yourself – and perhaps the most important and challenging one – is; are you structured for success, configured for failure or perhaps even more telling – made for mediocrity?

To roll out an often inaccurately attributed (hint – it’s not Albert Einstein) phrase, “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” However, the point is that if you’re going into 2018 with the same structure and resources that you had in 2017, you’re likely to end the year in a similar position. For the sake of this argument we’ll assume your operating environment stays much the same.

There are three key variables in operation here, one is you, the second is your workplace team and the third is your bank of resources – both internal and external.

Let’s look at these one at a time.

First up is you. Are you open to change, prepared to do what it takes to steer your team to success? Are you ready to lead by example – demonstrating efficiency, productivity, enjoyment of your role and the benefits of a positive work/life balance?

There are many leadership styles, but the most successful tend to have successful leaders. If this moment of self-examination leaves you feeling underwhelmed, don’t despair. There are proven strategies and processes you can adopt to become the leader you (and your team) would like you to be.

The second is your workplace team. Do you have the right people in the right places and do they operate as a team? Sometimes answering this can be a challenge from an insider’s point of view – and external pair of trained eyes can bring hidden aspects of team form and function to light. But before you go down that route, talking to your team and getting their thoughts on strengths and weaknesses is a good place to start.

The third question relates to your internal and external resources. Do you have access to the most appropriate people, skills and facilities to maximise your productivity and efficiency? A consideration of all the areas this covers is beyond the scope of this article, but one of the most important – human resources – is not. After all, you are only as good as your team.

Looking at trends for 2017, the Workforce Institute at Kronos observes that, “The human resources function has evolved from the transaction-driven personnel department of decades past into a strategic business partner.”

This not only applies to internal resources, but also to external suppliers and it is largely driven by the availability to source and analyse extensive data. A situation that can provide a game-changing view of staffing and recruitment.

But even if you don’t have ready access to mega-data, you can maximise your chances of success by broadening your access to the available talent pool – and it’s not hard to do.

The most important step here is to move outside your comfort zone – or circle of mates, personal network, whatever you like to call it – and be bold. Be prepared to look outside the proverbial square, to consider options that may be evident from a new perspective or different market options.

The easiest way to do this is to talk to a specialist. They will not only look at the individual role you need to fill, but at the team balance and a myriad of other factors.

Three questions. How were your answers? Are you structured for success in 2018 – or do you need to address issues now?

This article makes it sound simple, but it’s not. It sounds hard, but you can make it easier by talking to the right people. And it’s not too late to do that now to ensure that you’ll be geared for success in for the rest of 2018.