Christmas is a time of hope for Christians across the world but, whether you subscribe to that hope or not, how hopeful do you feel when it comes to work on a scale of 0-10 as this year ends and a new one begins?

Even though I work with a diverse group of teams, organisations and individuals, they have a few things in common. For one thing, every client I work with comes with the dynamic hope that, with the right approach and the right coaching, a lot can change in their work, team or organisation over a relatively short period of time. 

Over the past year, my clients have done amazing things,  often exceeding their own expectations - they've found new roles, new skills, new approaches and new confidence; they've built and grown new teams and businesses; they've developed and launched new strategic plans, programmes, products and services; they've grown new networks and found new ways to work together and to resolve longstanding professional tensions. They've also developed newfound clarity on what they want as well as new self and organisational awareness which has equipped them to reach their desired Outcomes. It's been a privilege to watch them, coach them and help them to do these things.

But each engagement didn't start with these achievements, it started with hope - a constructive, evidence-based hope, that a way forward was possible as we worked together. It's why the Now layer of ONION  starts by helping you to see what you already have and what you've already done. 

Psychotherapist and grief counsellor Julia Samuel writes, "hope is a feeling but it's also a plan." Certainly, without hope, there is no plan. As I work with my clients, I've seen that hope is a discipline - a muscle we can build as we plan towards what is possible. As you look ahead to the next year at work, why not try and plan ahead with hope, hope based not on wishful thinking but on evidence; the evidence of what you've learned at work this past year. The Christian hope in Jesus which Christmas celebrates is based on events and evidence and your hope at work can be based on events and evidence too. 

As you (hopefully) down tools for a bit, it might be helpful to ask, "What are one or two key things I've learned about myself or my work this past year?" Try and be specific about what you learned and how you learned it. Maybe they're hard things that emerged from challenging situations (you made mistakes, got some tough feedback or a rejection, you were badly burned by colleagues, collaborators or competitors) or maybe you learned them from more positive situations and great feedback. Maybe you surprised yourself by facing a new challenge or demonstrating skills you hadn’t used before. Once you’ve established your one or two key things, ask, "How does what I've learned help me to plan ahead with hope in the coming year?" 

Wherever your reflections take you, I hope they give you greater clarity as to how you want to proceed and enable you to plan with dynamic, evidence-based hope for the year to come.

As always, let me know how it goes. I'd love to hear what hope at work looks like for you in the coming year.

Up next, a year-end message as many of us wind down for a few days.