How do you become more successful in 2016? What is the critical element that helps you have an incredible 2016? My clients always ask what the critical element is to becoming a more successful serving leader today. The one thing I spent more time on with clients is focus.

Many of my clients have been working with me for many years and we still focusing on the fundamentals that make them a stronger serving leader.

As a former professional photographer, it’s easy to know how important focus is to getting great results. So, can I help you focus on the critical skills you need to succeed in 2016? Focus means different things to different people, but when it’s done right, it’s clear to everyone what you are focusing on. For 2016, it’s critical for you to focus on several crucial ideas that can increase your impact on other people. These simple ideas help you and your team reach your goals.  Let’s use FOCUS as an acronym to show you how to be more successful in 2016.

For 2016, the F in focus means faster. Clients and customers want things done faster. Time is critical to all of the leaders I work with. How do you get things done faster? You should be focusing on the 20% of the job that creates the greatest value to your key stakeholders. Avoid doing things that don’t have much impact on others. Once you stop doing these additional things, you may be surprised how much faster good things happen in your life.

The O in focus stands for outcomes. Knowing what you want to achieve is much easier when you have clearly defined goals and outcomes.  Most leaders are unclear about their object when planning for success.  What do you want to accomplish today and tomorrow? How does this fit in with your client’s objectives? If you lose focus on your client’s outcomes, you lose your clients. People pay for outcomes and results, not your processes.

The C in focus stands for collaboration. In the past, C might stand for competition. Successful organizations today are focusing on collaboration and they are expanding their business

exponentially. Successful collaboration means getting the right people involved at the right time for success. Successful collaboration involves the earlier two elements of focus to be successful. You must become faster and focused on outcomes if you hope to expand and grow your business.

The U in focus stands for understanding what is happening in any given situation. The best way to better understand things is to be curious about what is going on around you. So much information is coming and going on in your life. Many people choose not to interpret and understand what’s important for them to be more successful. Understanding also means being more aware of the other person’s situation and then finding a way to achieve their goals and objectives. Remember that understanding what isn’t being said is your responsibility.

The S in focus stands for serving. We live in a world where many people feel like just another cog in the wheel. Want to build great relationships in 2016?  Learn to serve more of your stakeholders better. I find many leaders fail at leadership because they are not comfortable serving another person by helping them find them solutions to their unique challenges.

So what can focus do for your life? I bet that if you learn how to focus on other peoples’ needs and challenges, you will have no problem finding and keeping great people in your life. Most people are great to collaborate with once you understand what they are going through at home and at work.

Finally, want to stand out in a technology driven world? Learn how to care for other people. If you learn how to focus on developing these soft skills, you may be surprised how quickly you start succeeding in what you do. Serving leaders are great because we choose the way choose to interact with others.

Next week I’ll be sharing five trends that will impact your serving leadership in 2016. See you next week.