Hello everyone,

It has been a few weeks since I last landed in your inbox. I have had my head down finishing a stretch of work, which feels a little ironic given what I want to write to you about today.

We are nearly halfway through the year. This is the point where the third quarter quietly starts to slide towards the summer holidays. I have already had clients tell me, we are all busy now, then it’s the holiday season, so everything is looking to the last quarter.

I understand the pull of that. But if you lead a team, this is exactly the moment to put your head down for the right reasons and have a proper think about where you are. Not just the work, although that matters, but your team and your stakeholders too. This is a time to regroup.

You will know by now that I am a massive fan of quarterly planning, and I think the half year one is the most important of the lot.

All it really asks is an hour or two to stand back from the work.

The trouble is not that managers do not know this. Most of you know it perfectly well. It is that it never quite gets done.

The weeks fly past, the urgent keeps arriving, and the standing back gets pushed to a someday that does not come. What we are really trying to do here is change a working habit, to climb out of the wave of urgent work long enough to actually think.

So here is my challenge to you. In the next two weeks, put the time in the diary. An hour or two, protected, to stand back.

Do a quick review of: the work, your people, and the stakeholders who can unblock the stuck bits.

Because that is the job. Your role as a leader is to be the guide, the unblocker, and to coach your team through it.

When I was in corporate life, this quarterly reset was non-negotiable for me. I gave myself the time to think, and then I made sure my team were aligned behind the renewed priorities. If I were back in that role today, it would be top of my list.

I have made a video that walks through exactly what to think about and how to spend that hour or two well.

Watch the video guide here: Video link​

Then book the time immediately (yes, right now).

Quick question: what’s the thing most likely to derail your Q3 right now - priorities, people, or stakeholders?

Have a proper think. It really is worth it.

Have a great week

Helen

P.S. If you do the quarterly reset, hit reply with one sentence: what did you realise?