We are coming to the close of another year. I believe servant leaders are intentional about reflecting on the past year, and envisioning what they want to accomplish in the upcoming year as a regular year-end practice.

When reflecting on the past year good questions to be answered might include:

• 2013 was the year that:
• I advanced my personal purpose by:
• Things that I am grateful for in 2013 would include:
• My major accomplishments would include:
• My key learning’s and areas for improvement would include:

Benefits of this exercise might include:

• Celebration opportunities (encouragement)
• Appreciation of others that have helped you along the way (thankfulness)
• Personal development opportunities (continuous improvement)
• Help frame up key goals for upcoming year (visioning) 

Once servant leaders have taken time to reflect on the last year, and discerned what the information tells them, a good next step is to envision the upcoming year. They build a picture one year out of what they want the upcoming “Ideal Year” to look like. 

High performing servant leaders are always thinking about the future and what they want to create. Answers to these same questions will provide the desired picture for 2014. 

Benefits of envisioning what an ideal 2014 looks like would include:

• Re-focus of your personal purpose
• Priorities for the upcoming year
• Basis for the setting of a 2014 goal program
• A plan to draw people into accountability with you to insure that “Ideal Year”
• A plan for personal development

What are your year-end practices to both reflect on the past, and envision a great future? 

Mark Deterding 

Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards. – Soren Kierkegaard