Post-Holiday Reset: Sharpen Your Focus for 2025 and Make It Happen—Creative Leadership Edition
✨ Post-Holiday Reset: Sharpen Your Focus for 2025 and Make It Happen—Creative Leadership Edition ✨
As we wrap up the holidays and look toward 2025, it’s the perfect time to reset and sharpen our focus for the year ahead. Whether you're a creative leader managing a team, a job seeker looking to land your next role, or a talent professional building connections, goal setting is essential to achieving success. But not just any goal setting—goal setting that’s rooted in clarity, focus, and strategic action.
Through years of experience, and by studying experts on goal-setting and productivity, I’ve learned that achieving meaningful, lasting results requires more than motivation. It’s about having a clear vision, aligning daily actions with long-term objectives, and staying laser-focused on the work that matters. Here’s how to do it, especially if you're navigating the creative landscape.
1. Start with Clarity—Not Just Wishes
In creative leadership, whether you’re hiring, job hunting, or guiding a team, clarity is the foundation of success. It’s easy to get excited about new opportunities or projects, but without a crystal-clear vision, those ideas can quickly fizzle out. Research supports this: studies by Locke & Latham (the psychologists behind goal-setting theory) show that goals need to be specific and challenging to boost motivation and performance.
Actionable Tip: Start by asking yourself these deep, reflective questions, and think about how they apply to your creative leadership:
If you’re a Hiring Manager: What does your ideal team look like? What kind of creative leader or talent do you need to inspire innovation?
If you’re a Job Seeker: What kind of company, culture, and role will allow you to shine and grow?
If you’re a Talent Professional: How can you match the right creative leaders with the companies that will foster growth, autonomy, and collaboration?
Resources:
Book: "Atomic Habits" by James Clear: James Clear’s insights can help you break down broad, ambitious goals into clear, actionable steps—whether you’re hiring a new team member or building your own career path.
Research: Locke & Latham’s Goal Setting Theory: Their research shows that specific, measurable, and achievable goals are far more motivating and lead to better outcomes in the creative field, especially in hiring and talent development.
How to Incorporate It Daily: Write down your goals in a dedicated journal each morning, aligning them with your professional journey. Reflect on what excites you about your work as a creative leader and keep those visions front and center. This practice not only keeps you focused but will also help guide your interactions with talent or your creative team.
2. Focus on 3-5 Key Areas of Your Life or Work
In the fast-paced world of creative leadership, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer number of possibilities. But research from Cal Newport, in his book "Deep Work", underscores that real success comes from deep focus on just a few important areas. Whether you’re working on your personal career goals or building a creative team, narrow your focus to the most impactful tasks.
Actionable Tip: Identify 3-5 areas that will have the biggest impact on your growth in 2025. For example:
If you’re a Hiring Manager: Focus on improving the hiring process, building an inclusive creative team, or upskilling your current team members.
If you’re a Job Seeker: Focus on expanding your network, learning new creative tools, or targeting roles that align with your long-term career vision.
If you’re a Talent Professional: Focus on refining your candidate sourcing strategies, developing stronger relationships with creative agencies, or staying ahead of industry trends.
Resources:
Book: "Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less" by Greg McKeown: This book helps you identify the most critical areas for growth, whether in creative recruitment or professional development.
Podcast: "The Tim Ferriss Show": Ferriss regularly interviews creative leaders and industry professionals who share insights on how to maintain focus on their top priorities.
How to Incorporate It Daily: Identify your top priorities for the week and stick to them. Write them down and prioritize them above any distractions. For instance, if you’re a hiring manager, dedicating time each week to refining your job descriptions or finding diverse talent might be crucial. If you’re a job seeker, focusing on perfecting your portfolio or applying to companies with a culture of innovation can keep you aligned with your goal.
3. Break Goals Into Daily Habits
Success is built on daily habits, not just big milestones. Whether you’re leading a creative team or managing your own career, it’s the small, consistent actions you take every day that will compound into results. Research from BJ Fogg in his book "Tiny Habits" demonstrates how small, simple habits can snowball into significant changes over time.
Actionable Tip: Break your larger goals into smaller, daily actions. Instead of setting a vague goal like “expand my creative team,” break it down into manageable steps:
Hiring Managers: Spend 30 minutes each day reviewing resumes, reaching out to candidates, or conducting interviews.
Job Seekers: Dedicate 15 minutes a day to applying for roles, optimizing your portfolio, or connecting with industry leaders on LinkedIn.
Talent Professionals: Set aside 20 minutes every morning to research potential candidates or reach out to creative directors and agencies to build your network.
Resources:
Book: "Tiny Habits" by BJ Fogg: This book explains how breaking down big goals into smaller, easier-to-do actions makes them more sustainable. Whether you're job searching or recruiting, these small habits will add up.
Research: The Seinfeld Strategy: The famous “Don't Break the Chain” approach encourages small, daily actions that gradually lead to big accomplishments.
How to Incorporate It Daily: Establish a habit tracker or use a simple journal to keep track of the daily actions that align with your goals. Whether you're creating time each day for self-care or refining your candidate selection process, maintaining these daily habits will keep you on track.
4. Visualize Your Success, Then Act
Visualization is a powerful tool for creative leaders, but it’s not just about seeing the end result. It’s about pairing your vision with clear actions. By mentally rehearsing your success, you prime your brain to take the right actions to make that vision a reality. Shawn Achor, in his book "The Happiness Advantage", demonstrates that positive visualization boosts motivation, but it’s the actions you take that make success possible.
Actionable Tip: Create a vision board or journal entry that visualizes your success. But don’t stop there—immediately take the first step toward making your vision a reality. Here’s how it breaks down for each role:
If you’re a Hiring Manager: Visualize a team that is diverse, collaborative, and innovative. Now, take action by refining your interview process or reaching out to diverse talent pools.
If you’re a Job Seeker: Imagine yourself landing the perfect role in a company that aligns with your values. Then, take concrete action, like updating your portfolio or applying for your top-choice companies.
If you’re a Talent Professional: Picture the ideal candidates placed in top roles, creating meaningful impact. Start taking action by refining your talent sourcing strategy or reaching out to potential candidates.
Resources:
Book: "The Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle: Tolle teaches the importance of focusing on the present moment, which is key to making your visualization real through consistent, present-time action.
Research: Studies in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology show that athletes who visualize their performance perform better—this is just as true for creative leaders who mentally rehearse both their team’s success and their own.
How to Incorporate It Daily: Each morning, take 5–10 minutes to visualize your goals and what achieving them will feel like. Then, immediately follow up with a tangible step toward making that vision come true. For example, if you're a hiring manager, focus on improving your hiring strategy by taking 10 minutes to update your job descriptions or review candidate pipelines. If you're a job seeker, commit to sending out one application or refining one section of your portfolio.
5. Accountability: A Game Changer
Accountability is the secret ingredient that often makes the difference between success and stagnation. Research from Vanderbilt University indicates that people who share their goals with others are far more likely to achieve them. In the creative industry, having an accountability partner—whether a mentor, colleague, or coach—can provide that extra push to stay on track.
Actionable Tip: Share your goals with someone who will hold you accountable. You can check in regularly, track your progress, and make adjustments as needed. Here’s how each role can use accountability:
If you’re a Hiring Manager: Share your hiring goals with a peer or a mentor, and check in regularly to discuss your progress in hiring for diversity or building your dream team.
If you’re a Job Seeker: Work with a mentor or trusted colleague who can give you feedback on your resume, portfolio, or interview skills. Regular check-ins will keep you motivated and improve your chances.
If you’re a Talent Professional: Partner with a fellow recruiter or hiring manager to compare candidate pipelines, hiring strategies, and metrics. Hold each other accountable to ensure you’re meeting your hiring goals.
Resources:
Book: "The 5 Second Rule" by Mel Robbins: Robbins encourages immediate action and has a strong emphasis on accountability to turn thoughts into actions.
Podcast: "The School of Greatness" by Lewis Howes: Howes often discusses the importance of having accountability partners who help you stay committed to your personal and professional growth.
How to Incorporate It Daily: Share your goals with someone you trust, and set up weekly or bi-weekly check-ins to track your progress. Whether you’re focused on hiring, job hunting, or talent management, these check-ins will keep you aligned and committed to your objectives. For instance, if you’re a talent professional, you might set a goal to have a certain number of meaningful candidate conversations each week—and report on that progress to your accountability partner.
Conclusion: Leadership Through Focus and Action
Goal-setting isn’t just about setting objectives; it’s about taking consistent, focused actions that move you toward those objectives, day by day. As creative leaders, whether you’re hiring, job hunting, or helping others find the right fit, incorporating clarity, focus, daily habits, visualization, and accountability will ensure 2025 is a year of growth and success.
We all know how easy it is to get distracted by the whirlwind of daily tasks, but when we make time to focus on the things that matter—like building the right team, positioning yourself for your next career move, or refining your recruitment strategy—the results will follow.
As I look ahead to 2025, I’m staying committed to my goals and maintaining a focus on what truly matters: building an impactful team, creating opportunities for growth, and continually evolving as a leader. Now, I challenge you to do the same—what steps are you taking today to make your 2025 goals a reality?
Let's make this the year we lead with purpose, hire with intention, and build with clarity.
