5 Critical Insights to Empower Your Team in the New Year
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What if this year, you could empower your team to not only start strong but stay strong—aligned, motivated, and clear on what success looks like every step of the way? Great teams don’t thrive by chance; they crush their goals because they know exactly where they’re going and the habits they need to get there.
To make that happen, your team needs more than goals—they need visibility to (and a genuine understanding of) the business, and a practical plan to turn insights into action.
These five critical insights, delivered through 5×5 communication (five times, five ways), will equip your team to succeed all year long.
1. Your Company’s Mission and Priorities—Why They Matter, and Where They Fit In
Your team needs to know what the company’s mission and goals are and why they matter. You’ve heard this before– because it’s true. When people connect their work to something bigger, they show up with more purpose and engagement.
If your company’s mission and vision are full of fancy words or generic gobblygook, be the translator.
Click here to watch Karin’s new keynote speaking reel.
One of our favourite ways to do this in our interactive keynotes and leadership development programs is through a “movie trailer.”
Give each person the following prompts, and have them write (and share) their movie trailer with a few people.
It’s fast and fun.
The audience’s reaction to this human-centered, healthcare leader’s movie trailer is pictured right.
In a world where _________ (tension or problem you or your team exist to solve)
One __________ (heroic actor)
Will_____________(what you do)
To____________ (how you do it)
And Help __________ (who benefits from what you do)
Other Ways to Reinforce Your Mission and Priorities
- Share the mission in team retreats and meetings and connect it to your team’s work.
- Check for understanding-– don’t just tell them why their work matters, hear it from them
- Highlight it during one-on-ones by linking individual goals to the company’s priorities.
- Create visuals (like posters or slide decks) that keep the mission front and center.
- Celebrate wins that show how your team is advancing the mission.
2. The Key Metrics That Matter—and Why
Empower your team by sharing the top-level metrics that fuel company performance, and connect the dots to the broader strategy. When your team sees how their work impacts the bigger picture, they can focus their efforts with purpose and precision.
How to Reinforce Key Performance Indicators
- Kick off the year by explaining the why behind your KPIs.
- Share regular updates on performance during check-ins.
- Send weekly or monthly dashboard updates–and invite conversation about what’s happening
- Highlight success stories that show progress against the metrics.
- Use visuals like scorecards or graphs to track progress publicly.
3. Role-Specific Metrics That Matter
To empower your team, ensure every employee has meaningful, attainable metrics they can influence. Otherwise, it’s like asking them to shovel snow in a blizzard—lots of effort, but it’s hard to see what’s getting done.
How to Ensure Your Team Knows How They’re Measured
- Work with each team to clarify a short list of the metrics that matter (if someone hands you a scorecard of 27 metrics, be sure you focus on the top three)
- Incorporate these metrics into performance reviews.
- Discuss role-specific metrics during team stand-ups or planning sessions. Find fun ways to mix this up– and celebrate why metrics are moving.
- Provide simple, engaging job aids or tools to track individual progress (no one should need a Ph.D. to know where they stand.
- Recognise individuals publicly when they hit role-specific goals (focusing on what they did to achieve them).
4. Role-Specific Habits for Success
Habits are the hidden drivers of consistent performance—they shape daily actions and, ultimately, results. Empower your team to identify and master the habits that pave the way for success in their roles. Whether it’s time-blocking for critical tasks, staying on top of client follow-ups, or building in a final check before submitting work, the right habits make excellence repeatable. Don’t forget the power of team dynamics: communication and collaboration habits, like those in our SynergyStack™ Team Collaboration System, can transform how your team works together and delivers results.
Read: Timeboxing: The Ultimate Productivity Tool
How to Reinforce It:
- Share examples of successful habits from high-performing peers.
- Model these habits yourself—be the example.
- Provide training or tools that make adopting these habits easier.
- Make habits a recurring topic in your one-on-ones.
- Recognise and celebrate when someone demonstrates consistent habits.
5. How They’re Performing—Candid Feedback, Accountability, and Celebration
The start of a new year is an ideal time to recalibrate and ensure your team understands how they’re doing. They need clarity—what’s going well, where there’s room to improve, and how their work contributes to the bigger picture. Honest, straightforward feedback helps them focus their energy and make meaningful progress.
Accountability matters just as much. It’s about helping your team take ownership of their goals and follow through, knowing you’re there to support them along the way. And don’t forget to celebrate what’s working—recognising even small achievements can energise your team and reinforce positive momentum for the year ahead. This balance of clear feedback, accountability, and celebration creates a foundation for steady growth and meaningful impact.
Read: How Managers Self-Sabotage When Giving Negative Feedback
How to Reinforce It:
- Schedule regular feedback loops during one-on-ones.
- Use team meetings to highlight collective wins and address areas for improvement.
- Send written performance summaries or recaps to ensure clarity.
- Create a culture of peer feedback and team accountability to supplement your input.
- Celebrate progress—big or small—publicly and often.
Make It Stick with 5×5 Communication
The most important part of all this? Repetition. The 5×5 communication strategy ensures your key messages stick. It’s not enough to say something once; you need to share it five times, in five different ways. This could include team meetings, emails, dashboards, one-on-ones, or even a casual conversation over coffee. When you vary the medium, the message becomes impossible to ignore—and far more impactful.
Your team is looking to you for direction, clarity, and encouragement as they begin the new year. When you ensure they understand these five things—and reinforce them using 5×5 communication—you’re setting them up for success.
This article was first published on letsgrowleaders.com
Edited by: Kiran Tuljaram
Leadership
Karin Hurt helps human-centered leaders find clarity in uncertainty, drive innovation, and achieve breakthrough results. She’s the founder and CEO of Let’s Grow Leaders, an international leadership development and training firm known for practical tools and leadership development programs that stick, and the author of four books including Courageous Cultures: How to Build Teams of Micro-Innovators, Problem Solvers and Customer Advocates.
