Free Mid-Year Reset Workbook
A Wilde idea for the intellectually mature.
Last week, I asked you to run your own mid-year reset without waiting for an actual rock bottom experience. I included four questions in the article to guide your own reflection. After my own reflection and a few conversations in response, I decided to expand the questions into a workbook to guide even deeper reflection and transformation.
The Mid-Year Reset Workbook (free link below) is a short, guided way to walk through what’s working, what’s not, and what needs to change before the rest of the year slips by.
Consistency Isn’t the Point
Harvard Business School researchers found that people who spend a few minutes writing about what they learned from a task or experience outperform people who simply kept working without pausing to reflect on it. (Di Stefano, Gino, Pisano, & Staats, 2014, Harvard Business Review). The opportunity for transformation is created by intentional reflection.
In a newspaper article defending a painter for breaking his own rules, Oscar Wilde wrote that "consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative" (Pall Mall Gazette, 1885). He was arguing about art, not life or professional plans, but this argument still applies. Sticking with a plan purely because you already committed to it isn't discipline. Most of the time it's fear or avoiding the discomfort of facing it honestly. It turns into dead weight as the sunk cost fallacy keeps you committed to seeing it through based on the investment you've made.
I'd go so far as to say that the inability to evaluate with honesty and to change direction becomes a failure of integrity. With integrity defined as the workability of a thing (a system, a process, a plan), you owe it to the intended outcome to continually evaluate whether all current actions are creating the results you want. If not, your plan — and you as a leader — aren't in a workable state.
Here’s My Half of the Deal
I’m providing this workbook for free. In exchange, I’d like two minutes of your time on a short pulse survey inspired from those conversations. I won’t collect names, emails, or anything else identifiable, but I’m curious to explore what’s on your mind as a leader right now. At the end of the survey, you’ll have an instant link to the Mid-Year Reset Workbook.
You don’t have to be in the middle of a crisis to take two minutes on a survey or to spend 15 minutes of reflection on your plan using the workbook. Being curious about your own answers is enough of a reason and demonstrates intellectual curiosity, flexibility, and maturity.
The rest of the year is in front of you. Make the most of it!
Take the two-minute survey and claim your workbook →
For Further Reading
Di Stefano, G., Gino, F., Pisano, G. P., & Staats, B. R. (2014). To Enhance Your Learning, Take a Few Minutes to Think About What You’ve Learned. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2014/04/to-enhance-your-learning-take-a-few-minutes-to-think-about-what-youve-learned
Aaron Ott is an executive coach who helps leaders promoted for expertise become the leader the role actually requires. He spent 19 years leading IT teams in the non-profit and for-profit spaces. His coaching practice is built on one belief: you’re capable of so much more than you could ever dream. He lives in Omaha, Nebraska with his wife, Sarah, who is a non-profit operations leader, author, and writing coach. This article is 100% human created. AI-created content variants may help publicize this piece.