The “New Year blues” are real, and workers everywhere fall victim each year. The first few weeks of the year, coming off celebrations and holiday time, can leave staff drained and unmotivated, affecting their daily tasks and productivity levels.
As a leader, it’s your job to get everyone back on track. Below, 12 Forbes Coaches Council members explain how to boost morale and create enthusiasm in the early weeks of a new year.
1. Harness The Power of ‘What If?’
When reconvening after the holidays, hold a kick-off meeting where you pose “what if” questions. Try this one: “What if we broke our all-time sales goal?” Or, “What if we launched a second product? What if we donated $100,000 from profits to charity this year?” “What if” questions do not presuppose a correct answer, so the team gets to invent the answer that works best. - John Hittler, Evoking Genius
2. Ask Employees What They Think
Ensuring that all employees feel their opinion is valued and taken seriously is critical to success. A phrase that does that is “What do you think?” It is an opportunity for them to express their opinions and for leaders to show interest in those opinions and demonstrate they are willing to pursue the ideas if they have merit. Give teams some real skin in the game right from the outset each year. - Tracey Grove, Pure Symmetry Coaching and Consulting
3. Help Them Create Their Own Growth Goals
Your employees likely have unexpressed talents that don’t fit into their job descriptions that could also benefit your organization. When people are growing they are naturally more engaged. Tap into their additional interests by asking at the start of the new year, “What is one thing you would like to do for our team that would also help you grow?” Motivate your people by developing them. - Loren Margolis, Training & Leadership Success LLC
4. Hold An Offsite Event
Building good vibes and a positive culture requires taking time to invest in your people. The beginning of the new year is a great time to bring people together to discuss the bigger-picture vision of your organization and help people see how their role ties into this vision. Set a budget and ask people to vote on the venue. This way you’ll know that you’re investing in an experience they want. - Beth Kuhel, Get Hired, LLC
5. Name A Theme For the New Year
Start the new year with an experiential activity that sets an inspirational tone by engaging your people to share their intentions by answering two questions: What do I want to create more of, and what will I shift in order to align with this goal? Then invite them to anchor their intention by writing a one-word theme for the new year that they will display in their office as a visual reminder. - Carolina Caro
6. Find Small Ways To Keep Motivation Going
The “January slump,” or “winter blues,” as I call it, is that long swath of time just after the holidays and before the promise of spring. To keep the motivation going at work, try some of these suggestions: Provide monthly lunch to staff; introduce a friendly competition focusing on solving a current work problem, with an appropriate reward; or allow working from home one day a week. - Michelle Holzberg, Accelerated Talent Group
7. Schedule Staff Enrichment
The new year begins a fresh start, where we refocus our energy on what’s next. While the holiday excitement has passed, a space is opened that can lead you to new opportunities. Keep your staff engaged by scheduling a goal-setting workshop, fitness initiative and/or creative focus group early in the year. Turn the focus to something positive and inspire people toward their next big accomplishment. - Erik Fredrickson, Erik Fredrickson Coaching
8. Eliminate Unnecessary Meetings
As a leader, it is your job to implement the correct processes and procedures to assist your employees through the January blues. One of the simplest things is to simply give them their time back. For weekly meetings, have an agenda, keep them short and end them early. By focusing on the value of your employees’ time, you can boost their productivity and morale by caring for their time. - Jon Dwoskin, The Jon Dwoskin Experience
9. Give Them The Structure They Crave
Holiday downtime is refreshing at first but leaves many people feeling out of sorts when their daily structure changes for an extended period of time. Rather than have everyone navigating the inevitable January transition on their own, smart leaders acknowledge this reality. They find creative ways to communicate current organizational structure, strategy and goals; solicit feedback; and secure buy-in. - Robin Hendricks, LogicPlay
10. Break Goals Down And Celebrate Progress
Our brains crave progress. Let go of being a perfectionist and celebrate each step of progress. One of the reasons for feeling drained in a new year is people feel overwhelmed and the goals seem too big. When you break a goal down into steps of progress and celebrate each one, people are motivated to keep going. - John Livesay, The Pitch Whisperer
11. Give Them A 21-Day Innovation Challenge
Giving people a goal or challenge to focus on helps create forward momentum. It also gets them into a growth mindset. Ask each team to identify one area of their function they can improve or innovate over 21 days. Give them tools to run a brainstorming session. Publicize each team’s commitment via the intranet. After 21 days, share the results and impact. To celebrate, donate to a worthwhile cause. - Gabriella Goddard, Brainsparker Leadership Academy
12. Take A Team Retreat
Team retreats can be great for business, and they can also be good for moving the organization forward. When the team gets together to discuss vision, new ideas and a working plan, it inspires and motivates. Also, with teamwork, there is real accountability, which leads to higher levels of production. Every company should consider a team retreat to set the vision and the goals for the year. - Ken Gosnell, CEO Experience
