It’s that point in the year when you’re looking at your list of things you wanted to accomplish by this point. Some of you make way ahead of your goals, while others may be behind where they thought they’d be. Either way, it’s a great reminder that it’s a marathon and not a race. Just because it was written down or planned for a certain point in the year, doesn’t mean there isn’t room for error or change.
If you’re unsure of where you’re at, there are a few things you can do to check in. You can start by asking your team (and yourself) some questions:
1. What have I learned so far?
Take a look back on the past few months and look at all the ways you’ve grown. Maybe there was a project that went haywire that you never thought was going to be completed, but you found a way to push through.
2. What’s the biggest change I want to make for the rest of the year?
If you’re behind on the projects or tasks you had set out for yourself, this is a great way to figure out a prioritized list. Placing everything you have left to do in an ordered list can help you focus on the bigger things that need to be done, and make sure you complete them.
3. What do others need to know?
Maybe it’s giving your team a pep talk about how great they’re doing, or letting them know about any areas that you’re falling behind in. It’s a great idea to be open and honest with your team throughout everything.
Another great idea is to hold a mid-year meeting. Make sure you prepare for it and create an agenda. This can be a list of things you want to talk about with your team, goals that need to have a progress update or an update on the things that were on your yearly to-do list. If you’re holding one-on-one meetings, it’s a great idea to chat about your employee's performance. Give them some insight into the things they’ve been doing great at, and areas where there is room for some improvement.
You can also talk about their career progression and how they’ve been developing in the company. This is a great way to bring up the topic of promotions or assigning more challenging tasks. Figure out what employees are happy where they are, and those who could use the extra challenge or responsibilities. You can also use this time to talk about their current tasks and how they’re handling them.
Make sure that when you wrap up the discussion both you and the employee can walk away with some key takeaways. You and the employee can write meeting notes to be open and help understand what you each took away from the meeting.
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