I’m a big fan of Gergely Orosz and he has a recent LinkedIn post that reminded me that it’s the end of the year and a good time to reflect, especially in light of all the changes that are coming for me in 2022:
Looking Back
- A year ago, what were your expectations for the upcoming year?
- I really thought 2021 was going to be a great year for me professionally as I started to build a team to tackle some interesting problems and as I started to come into my own as a people manager and transition away from an IC
- Personally, I didn’t know what to expect but we did know we were in for a change. Especially after my wife decided to switch and become a stay at home mother, we knew we had to make a change. That ultimately led us to find, review and purchase a home almost entirely remotely.
- What happened in reality, during the year? What were the highlights from the year?
- 2021 was a dumpster fire and a new beginning all in one. My team was continually boxed in starting day one due to constraints put on the team before we could even gel, on top of trying to build a set of strategies for goals that were effectively moonshots. I learned how to grow as a people manager and guide a team through multiple pivots to find tactical wins to tread water while waiting for strategic dependencies to come online.
- I realized that I was working with a leadership team that did not take ownership and shifted blame everywhere else and I was burning out. I decided to take back my agency and find a new opportunity where I could contribute and grow, and with some help I was able to move on to a great new opportunity that starts in 2022.
- We also purchased and closed on a home, and much like so many others had to work through all the curveballs COVID caused from supply chain issues, to hiring contractors, and even to getting to closing. It’s been a crazy ride but we’re glad that we decided to move closer to my wife’s family and living a nice life in rural CT.
- What are the things that went really well?
- Transition to remote work went relatively well, and it forced me to prioritize what was imortant and that ultimately was spending time with my familly and getting to see my daughter grow up.
- I haven’t actively looked for a new job in a VERY long time, and I’m glad I was able to find great resources to help me define what I wanted and what I needed to do to get it. That led me to finding my next position at Flex starting in 2022.
- We also managed to avoid Covid (as far as we know) as a family in 2021 … with Omnicron, who knows with 2022.
- What are the things that could have gone better?
- I could have been better at planning for possibilities, especially for work around dependencies that didn’t show up until much later and letting stakeholders know the risks/fallout of those events.
- I could be a better people manager with a better range of tools to help my directs with career development, training/milestones and keeping track of it all
- I could of been better to myself in terms of sleeping more regularly and exercising more regularly. Not addressing those and pushing those aside to get “work” done, hurt me in the long run.
- What have you learned?
- I learned that I really need to set time aside for myself to sleep, workout, recover and learn.
- I learned that while I still enjoy coding, I really enjoy people management, specifically supporting people and their paths to success.
- I learned that I am ok living outside of NYC.
- How did you grow, professionally?
- I have learned a lot of how to be a better people manager from reading, researching and getting access to various tools.
- I have learned that I need feedback loops to tell me if my communication is effective or not, I also need to be more succinct.
- How did you grow, as a person?
- I learned to be kinder to myself and acknowledge toxic situations and develop a plan to elevate myself.
- I’m continually learning how to be a good husband and father
- I learned how to wire light switches!
Looking Ahead
- What will your priorities be for next year?
- Listen to and learn from my leaders and peers at Flex
- Start/Grow a team and provide S.M.A.R.T. goals and milestones
- Learn how to leverage KPIs and OKRs effectively
- Question more, answer less (try to stop solving people’s problems and help them solve it themselves)
- What will not be priorities?
- Job hunting (I would love to have a long tour of duty with Flex)
- What would a great year look like?
- Getting positive feedback from my team and peers while achieveing team goals
- Getting back into BJJ shape, even better getting back to training on a regular basis!
- No Covid for anyone in the family
- Travel to see family and friends
- Go on a real family vacation again
- What are things that you have learned from last year, and will do differently?
- I’ll be more deterministic about how I manage 1 on 1s
- I’ll determine how to create feedback loops to measure the effectiveness of my communication
- I’ll prioritize my body’s needs (exercise, sleep, etc.) proerly so that I can be resent and effective for everyone
- If you could only set three goals for the year, what would they be?
- Complete reading and note taking of at least 6 books that may help with work
- Get back to 190lbs with more muscle mass
- Achieve success in the eyes of my team, peers and leaders at Flex
- What are other important goals you have?
- Grow the family
- Complete home renovations and host family and friends
