New Year’s Resolutions For The Road Less Traveled – OpEd
By IESE Insight
The same few wishes tend to top lists of New Year’s resolutions year after year: lose weight, get a new job, drink less, get organized.
But let’s face it: the world has changed a lot in the last several years. Who remembers when pop culture was bemoaning 2016 as the “worst year ever”? As 2023 dawns, it’s time for some new New Year’s resolutions to change your perspective, maximize your impact and improve the workplace for yourself and others.
Based on recent research and practical expertise from IESE Insight, these five resolutions are a fresh take on a classic tradition.
Resolution 1: Take stock of your career
If you’re unsatisfied with your career to date, it may be time to jump back on the interview circuit, and for that, you’ll need to put your best foot forward. How you visualize your career can make all the difference: has it been more like a race or like a river? Whether you fought the current or went with the flow, craft a clear, honest account of yourself.
Adapted from the book Learning to fly: how to manage your career in a turbulent and changing world by Mike Rosenberg, as featured in IESE Business School Insight 162.
Resolution 2: Craft your own position
For those suffering burnout or seeking that elusive work-life balance, taking on more responsibilities may seem counterintuitive. But it’s one way to make your job over in your own image. “I take on as much event planning as I can, even though it wasn’t originally part of my job. I do it because I enjoy it, and I’m good at it. I have become the go-to person for event planning,” says one marketing manager. From whole new projects to deciding which days you do certain tasks, how can you take control?
Adapted from Work and life in the balance by Evangelia Demerouti, first published in IESE Business School Insight 161.
Resolution 3: Have faith in your choices
Decision-making is hard, but nothing is a greater waste of mental energy than wondering if the other choice might have been better. But what do you really know about the one that got away? Snippets from social media and other highlights? Chances are there have been just as many struggles — you just weren’t there to see them.
Adapted from When hiring, don’t regret the one that got away by Johannes Müller-Trede, first published in IESE Business School Insight 162.
Resolution 4: Prioritize connection
From fake news to remote working, it has been a divisive few years. For leaders, it’s time to believe in your team, provide resources and stop micromanaging. And for all of us, it’s important to connect personally with people who don’t think just like you.
Adapted from Better together: the power of human connectedness, the cover story from IESE Business School Insight 161.
Resolution 5: Manage your stress levels
Managing stress is a perennial resolution. But some old truths hold, even in the new normal. Let this be the year you get the better of stress, for you and your team, by reframing adversity as something normal. Oh, and stop doomscrolling — it really will help.
