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InspireCorps 2017 reflections meaning of success

InspireCorps’ Year in Review & the Meaning of Success

InspireCorps’ Year in Review & the Meaning of Success

2017 reflections meaning of success

It’s that time of year again.

As the New Year approaches, you can feel it in the air.  It is the coinciding of holiday stress, pushing hard to close the year strong and beginning to think about the vision, goals and strategic priorities for the year ahead.  It is when we begin to look at not only what was but what will be; it is when we find ourselves reflecting on the meaning of success.

Typical questions during this time of the year are:

Did we reach our goals?

Did we meet expectations?

What didn’t work? Why did we not achieve them?

What can we learn?

What needs to change?

The tendency as we look towards the New Year, finalize budgets and put the final touches on strategic plans for the year ahead is to focus forward, often forgetting that we have not yet concluded the year we are in.

The meaning of success.

We work with leaders to accelerate the development of their people in ways that inspire, motivate and drive performance improvement and excellence.  One method we train is the use of our performance tool, 4-3-2-1 Pulse; this tool teaches a  structure for 1:1 and performance management conversations that increases trust, confidence and commitment, while at the same time inspiring progress and performance improvement.

One of the reasons we find this tool so powerful is that it brings forward success more prominently in ongoing conversations.  It requires that the first part of every conversation is an identification, acknowledgement and celebration of “wins” and successes.  It holds space for time devoted to looking at all that has gone well and that has been “successful” since the last conversation, however small or incremental.  By starting with success and taking time to celebrate it, a connection to what has been working and what we want more of is created.

Celebrating success.

How we approach the new year is no different.

While time is short and calendars full, now is the most important time to reflect back and stand on the successes of the past year.  Looking at what worked, what was accomplished and acknowledging significant progress to longer-term goals is an exercise that will bring people together and inspire connection, commitment and a desire to grow.  This is a time to celebrate “wins”, call out what went well and was learned, and clarify what can be carried forward into the New Year.

It is time to disrupt the meaning of success.  Success is not only defined as whether you “met budget” or not, it is about the many ways in which leaders, teams and organizations grew and evolved over the year, and the tremendous progress made towards a bigger vision.

Here are a few things the InspireCorps team, personally and professionally,  felt most proud of this year:

1. We have a book agent and are ready to shop for publishers.

2. It became even more apparent that we’re building something bigger than ourselves here; we are growing and expanding our team while at the same time staying true to our deeply held values.

3. We built out our new Inspired Performance Ecosystem framework and created exciting opportunities and services for partnership with organizations.

4. This past summer when we took the kids to Ecuador for the first time to visit their family,  I loved seeing our boys speak a different language, experience a new culture, and meet their cousins!

5. This year, we worked hard on our book about inspiration. Part of that process included “inspiration interviews” with individuals across all walks of life and backgrounds about what inspires them the most. These interviews, and hearing others’ stories about who and what inspires them, truly inspired me.

6. I am excited about InspireCorps‘ becoming a certified women-owned business, what a wonderful time to be able to support women in leadership and corporate diversity objectives.

7. We have welcomed in so many new clients and are so proud to be a part of the great work they are doing in the world.

8. We have taken the design and quality of our executive coaching program to a level I never imagined, it is amazing.

9. We were able to travel not only for business, but for pleasure and to generate our own inspiration, learning and innovation.

10. Watching my niece Alex graduate from high school and join her sister at college. They are amazing young women with guts, brain power and poise.

11. Becoming debt free!

Our list could go on- there were so many wonderful successes and so much progress towards our individual and collective powerful visions.

We know you have your own unique meaning of success, and a list of accomplishments and wins; we hope you will take time to celebrate the year that was before you dive deeply into the year that will be.  We’d love to have you share your wins with us.


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