Whether you are starting your fiscal year or not, you are half way through the calendar year. Halfway points are great times for leaders to pause. To review their goals. To measure progress and, possibly, map mid-course corrections.

My friend Jon Swanson shared a great list of review questions to help your assessment. He’s given me permission to repost them here. You can also read them at: https://300wordsaday.com/2016/07/04/six-month-questions-2/

Six Month Questions

Here are a bunch of questions to help in that review. But as you look at these questions, you will realize that progress isn’t always related to goals. Sometimes new things happen. Sometimes things change. Sometimes just keeping up with the basics (eating, breathing) is making progress.

Life change is its own set of goals…

• Did a relationship end? start?
• Did a family member die?
• Did a child join the family? struggle? graduate?
• Did a job change?
• Did you keep doing the daily work?

Expression

• Did you write an unplanned poem? a letter? a thank you note? a blog post? a song? a script?
• Did you read a book? many books?

At least once…

• Did you say no to an addiction? Can you do it again?
• Did you change a habit?
• Did you give someone flowers?
• Did you choose to stay quiet?
• Did you wrestle with a major question?
• Did you apologize?
• Did you say thank you?
• Did you keep Sabbath?
• Did you find solitude?
• Did you forgive someone?

Looking at things as a farmer would (with thanks to Becky)…

• Are you ripping out the old plants?
• Are you between crops?
• Are you planting?
• Are you weeding?
• Are you watering and waiting?
• Are you harvesting?

Questions for thinking…

• Did you complete one of last year’s goals? (right goal, wrong year)
• Did you come back?
• Did you step out?
• Did you cry out for help?
• Did you step back?
• Did you let go?

Sounding formal…

• How did you build capacity? Yours? someone else’s? your organization?
• How have you developed infrastructure?
• Are you looking forward to the next half of the year?
• How did a goal change?
• How did a new goal emerge?
• Did you realize that your goals weren’t small enough? big enough?

The review is up to you

I’ve been hearing from many leaders that they simply do not have the time to pause and reflect. These tend to be the leaders who feel they’re just spinning their wheels without gaining traction.

You will either pause and assess, or not. It’s up to you.