You want your team or organisation to be different this time next year.

You want to keep what’s working, and there are things you want to grow, change, refine, introduce. That’s almost a certainty. Standing still is going backwards, as the world and markets move around you!

If so, as we approach the end of the year you’ve probably been carving out time to do two things. To reflect on 2023 and to think about 2024 and your aspirations, goals, milestones.

This reflection is energising, enjojoyable and practical, and gives you the best chance of moving at the right pace in the right direction. But there’s often something missing.

A cultural goal.

As you sit there at the end of 2024, what do you want to be different in your culture? This can be a tricky question to answer, so here are some others to help you feel your way into it... as you think about your team or organisation:

What is the mood there? How would you like it to be different?

What are the ‘stories’ people tell? What would you like the new story to be?

What are the frustrations people have that could be eased?

What do people believe about you and your team, the whole organisation? How does that need to change?

What are some small changes you could make through the year – large or small, significant or small gestures – that will start to make a difference?

You might be starting from a good place. How do you raise the bar? Or maybe you have a trickier job on your hands. Either way, setting some cultural goals for 2024 now will give you a much better chance of sitting there in 2024 counting the year as a cultural success than if you don’t!

So, our invitation to you, as you look at your annual plans for 2024, make sure you have a goal for your culture.

What would you like to be different in yours in a year’s time?