🌟 While we no longer record the Q&A discussions during our Leadership Strategy Sessions, we continue to record the opening teaching. Enjoy a special preview of what we shared about bringing your team into alignment after the holiday disruption. If you want to see the complete teaching and take part in upcoming sessions, consider upgrading to join us live next month.
The holidays scatter focus. Your team returns with different energy levels, shifted priorities, and outdated plans still lingering from last year. Before you can plan effectively or execute with clarity, your team needs to reorganize around a shared vision of where you’re going.
January isn’t about diving straight into execution. It’s about establishing the shared understanding that makes everything else possible.
Here’s what matters most in these first weeks back:
Treat early January as re-entry. You may have spent the break thinking about work while your team actually disconnected. They’re cognitively a few weeks behind where you are so don’t assume high performance yet.
Remind and affirm priorities. Your team has had many sleeps and too many desserts. They may not remember December’s plans. Don’t be the leader who sets a plan then shows up doing something different without explanation.
Signal intent before the full plan is ready. Express your strategic intent in three sentences: what’s changing, why, and what’s coming. Your team can start orienting while you finalize the details.
Use back briefs to create alignment. Have your teammates tell you back what they think the priorities are in their own words; not as a quiz, but to create a common operating picture.
Set expectations about the re-entry timeline. Give your team a sense of when you expect everyone back in a normal groove. This creates permission for people to figure out how they’ll get there.
January is the time to slow down so you can speed up later. Reset the vision for yourself first, then walk your team through it again, building from vision and trust.
This month’s Q&A also covered:
Preparing teams for a leader’s extended absence
Understanding the difference between teams and groups
Leading when you’re sidelined
Planning for growth years versus maintenance years
One thing that often happens during these sessions is Charlie shares resources he’s actively developing. This month, attendees got a sneak peek at a table outlining the key differences between teams and groups across multiple dimensions. Premium subscribers can access a PDF of this resource below.
Our next Leadership Strategy Session will be on Wednesday, February 4, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. PST. (Details coming soon)
Premium subscribers can watch the full opening teaching and access all related resources shared during the call.👇🏽
