On a recent podcast, I shared 5 New Year’s Resolutions for Managers. Today, I am recommending 6 New Year’s Resolutions for Employees.
So here they are for 2025:
Nail the small stuff - One of the best things you can do to set yourself up for a great year and a great review and possible promotions, is to nail all the small stuff consistently. What is “the small stuff” you ask? Things like promptness, showing up on time to meetings, always creating out of office messages when you are gone, having a backup person when you are gone, submitting requested work on time, responding to emails professionally and in a timely fashion, working ahead when possible, bring questions to meetings, sending summaries after meetings. Just the basic Xs and Os that tell everyone you are a professional who knows how to work.
Submit recommendations - even when you aren’t specifically asked for them, prepare recommendations, based on your expertise, to your manager. Think them through, use bullet points and a professional style with “why” and “impact” statements. Be specific.
Request feedback - your manager should be soliciting your feedback on their performance, but also ask them for feedback on your performance. Ask them if there are areas where you can improve to take initiative.
Plan for 1:1s - likely your manager will meet with you weekly or every other week, and your manager may be looking at how prepared you are for this meeting. Have a summary of your week and work completed ready. Have talking point bullets for yourself. Include questions you have about process or the organization etc…Well thought out questions make a great impression on your manager.
Be open and honest but don’t overshare - It’s great to just converse with your team mates and your manager and talk about stuff even not work related. Be yourself, but think ahead of time what personal details you really want to share. Diving into personal or family problems in detail is not usually a good approach. Talk about things at a higher level without the specifics when it comes to personal life. The people you are talking to are co-workers and not counselors. Create boundaries for yourself.
Don’t complain unless you have suggestions for improvement - Your manager should respect your need to just vent sometimes. But venting without discussions about solutions will eventually get old. If you come with a problem, also come with a proposed solution. Example: I hate that our meetings always run long. Solution: Can we have the meeting leader specifically jump in with 5 minutes left to wrap things up. Or some other thought out solution.
There you have it, 6 recommended New Year’s Resolutions for employees. What are your 2025 work resolutions? SHare them in the comments.
You can listen to all these podcasts on iHeartRadio and AmazonMusic or watch them on YouTube or Spotify and can interact with me on X or Instagram. See you next time and Happy New Years 2025!