Conquer The End of Year Slump with These 3 Questions

CESANA SAN SICARIO, ITALY – FEBRUARY 23: Carolyn Treacy of the United States of America lays … [+] exhausted after competing in the Womens Biathlon 4x6km Relay Final on Day 13 of the 2006 Turin Winter Olympic Games on February 23, 2006 in Cesana San Sicario, Italy. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

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As we enter the final weeks of 2023, the pace of work will slow down for many workers. We are distracted by holiday planning, interrupted by travel and visitors, or simply thwarted by collaborators who want to delay and circle back in the new year. Some of us are just tired and ready for the year to be over. How can you maximize your productivity when things seem to be winding down?

As an executive coach, I utilize three questions to conquer the commonly experienced “end of year slump.” I encourage leaders to take advantage of the slower operational tempo and use the following three questions to assess their own progress or to close out 2023 with their direct reports. Invite your DR to coffee for an informal conversation, use a journal for personal reflection, or find a work buddy and share your responses with each other. Each question has three follow up questions to push you a little deeper to build more awareness.

Question 1: What Was The Most Difficult Challenge You Faced At Work This Year?

What made it so difficult? How did you respond to the challenge? What did you learn about yourself and leadership from this experience?

Question 2: What Did You Find Most Satisfying About Work This Year?

Why was it so personally fulfilling? What does that say about the kind of person you are? What do you want to do to expand on this in the coming year?

Question 3: What Do You Want Professional Growth To Look Like For You In 2024?

How would working on that advance your vision for your career? What resources will you need to achieve that growth? What is the one thing you need to do to get started on that journey?

Many of us struggle to get off the hamster wheel of productivity and know that we need time for strategic thinking and purposeful conversations. But the tyranny of the urgent usually wins out. Wise leadership requires shifting our perspective and valuing the lessons that emerge from times of reflection which can feel less productive. Leaders who embrace this mindset are capable of approaching future challenges with greater awareness and agility.

David Kolb’s well-known cycle of experiential learning involves four stages that include concrete experience, reflection on the experience, abstract conceptualization, and commitment to trying new things in the future. Leaders who are committed to ongoing professional growth ascend this developmental spiral by extracting lessons from the past and integrating them into present knowledge and skills.

The year isn’t over yet and we can choose to finish strong. As you close out 2023, take time to ask yourself these three questions and remember the words of John Dewey: “We don’t learn from experience. We learn from reflecting on our experience.”