What’s your resolution for 2023? Many may choose to try to lose weight or exercise more. Others might be interested in taking that vacation they’ve been putting off or trying out a new hobby. As an association leader, you’ve considered options and may have adopted a few, but you’re still considering what resolutions will most improve your organization.
Your staff continues to turn over, your members are making demands, and the weight of the world rests on your shoulders as we head into what most are predicting to be an economic downturn. What are you going to do?
The basis of a powerful resolution is the habit you intend to install or the goal you plan to reach. Before moving forward, you must determine your mission. Once your starting point is defined, and your trajectory mapped out, how do you fight through the year to complete your resolution? A Statista survey revealed that only 4% of people who make resolutions actually keep them for the entire year. How do you join that percentile in their success? The key is dedication, repetition, and positive reinforcement to encourage lasting behavior change.
The Starting Line
After defining your resolution(s), your first step is to create a roadmap. Whether your goal is to increase membership retention, plan and execute a new event, or optimize an email strategy, you must establish how to get from where you are in January to where you want to be in December.
For example, let’s say you had a personal goal to start living a healthier lifestyle. A roadmap to your resolution might involve the following:
A gym membership
A specific fitness schedule and diet
A plan to invite a friend to join you on the journey as an accountability partner
Leading an association toward success follows the same basic pattern.
To develop a strategy, you must clearly define your goal. What does success look like? Determine those key performance indicators (KPIs). You must create a task calendar to organize your team’s responsibilities and ensure everyone fully understands their necessary order and deadlines. This calendar is the roadmap, and the members of your team are your accountability partners, just as you are theirs.
Keep It Up!
As difficult as it is for one person to begin a new routine, it is significantly more challenging to start a new routine for a whole team or organization. Some say starting is the hardest part, but the data suggests that isn’t the case with resolutions.
You’ve developed an initiative, you and your stakeholders know how you plan to quantify success, and your team has an action plan. What happens when you hit a road bump a few weeks later? Something more immediate has grabbed your organization’s attention, and you’ve missed a few deadlines. You’re off course. Work is piling up. Do you call it quits and try again next year?
These decisions weigh heavily on leaders’ shoulders. Will the benefits of the resolution outweigh the headache it’s become? Though we can’t answer that question for you, we can remind you that resolutions aren’t beholden to New Year’s Day alone. Every day is a new opportunity to start fresh, so don’t let a little roadblock keep you from your destination. Keep your eyes forward and find the necessary detour to get your team back on track.
For a routine to become a habit, you must endure through the trials.
Crossing the Finish Line
It may be December 2023 by the time you reach the end of your roadmap. It may be June or even December 2024 if you hit a roadblock or two. Your KPIs may return encouraging data. Or maybe you won’t obtain your desired results. Running an organization isn’t an exact science, and nothing is a one-size-fits-all solution.
If you succeed in carrying out your, then congratulations! What can you do next to compound that wonderful outcome? How can you add to the new habits your team has developed?
If your resolution doesn’t return your desired results, try to pinpoint which area or areas may be at fault. Seek to understand what was broken within the process so you may begin to fix it and try again. Sometimes, it comes down to trying a few strategies to see what fits.
If a roadblock keeps you from your destination, don’t worry. It’s never too late to try again. Go back to your roadmap and consider what may be expedited to avoid pitfalls in the next campaign.
New Year's resolutions are most successful when involving an accountability partner or a trainer. At THuS Marketing, we aim to partner with clients to help them reach their branding and content development goals any time of the year. Connect with us to learn more about how we can support your team and help you achieve your resolution(s).