This is part 1 of a 6 part series on transformation leadership.  I started the series thinking it was a single blog.  But once I got started, I realized I had a lot more to say than one blog would allow.  I hope you find some value in my “musings” as you make your plans for 2013.

As the new year approaches, many of us are beginning to think about our personal resolutions.  Just as in every year prior, we promise ourselves that “this year is going to be different.”  We are going to lose weight, exercise more, quit smoking, attend church, be a better husband, wife, mother, father, friend, and finish that project we started 10 years ago.  And every once in a while, we actually succeed.

But what about our professional resolutions for the New Year?  When is the last time you made a New Year’s resolution to be a better leader, to  provide your customers with better service, to treat your employees with more respect,  or to see a new initiative through to the end?   With the seemingly interminable economic doldrums, perhaps it is time we stopped waiting for the Administration and Congress to “fix” things for us and focus instead on what we can control — ourselves.

In the spirit of holiday giving, here are 5 Great New Year’s Resolutions for Executives that might just help you improve your business in 2013.

Resolution #1:  Be a better leader

Perhaps the most important role of an executive in any organization is to set the direction — and the tone — for the organization.  And perhaps the most common failing of executives is to exempt themselves from behaving in ways that are consistent with the stated direction.  To see if this resolution is right for you, ask yourself these questions:

Do I have a clear vision and strategy?
Have I communicated it to my organization?
Are my own decisions and actions consistent with the stated direction?

If you answer “no” or “I’m not sure” to any of these questions, you have the opportunity step up your leadership in 2013.

Resolution #2: Treat your customers with more respect.

Every organization has customers, whether they are the external buyers of your products or services, or the internal consumers of your staff.  As executives, we understand intellectually that good customer service is essential for attracting and retaining customers or enhancing the organization’s reputation.  Yet, in our zeal to capture new customers or in our preoccupation with controlling costs, we sometimes make decisions that demonstrate a lack of respect for the customer.  Ask yourself these questions:

Have we ever exaggerated a claim about a product or service in order to capture a sale?
Have we ever hurried through a project in order to meet a deadline, taking shortcuts that we knew we would have to fix later?
When a customer complains, do we spend more time telling them they are wrong or that they are to blame than it would take to fix it?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, your organization is showing signs that it does not respect or value your customers.  You can make 2013 the “Year of the Customer” by transforming your business practices to improve customer service.

Resolution #3: Treat your employees with more respect

Take a look at any enterprise strategy and you will likely find the common sentiment that “employees are our most important resource”.  Online careers pages will tout the virtues of the company for providing good benefits, training and development, and advancement opportunities. Far too often, however, the reality is very different.   How would your employees answer these questions?

Does your organization provide you with an annual performance review that helps you improve your performance?
Does your organization provide adequate support (time and funding) for training and career development to help you improve your skills?
Does your organization acknowledge the importance of a healthy work-life balance by limiting overtime and honoring time-off requests?

If your employees would answer “no” to any of these questions, you may need to take a serious look at your human resources management practices.  Why not make a renewed commitment to your employees in 2013 and truly treat them as your most valuable resources?

Resolution #4:  Finish what you start

Transformation seems to be the word of the decade.  There are quality transformations, lean transformations, customer service transformations, and, of course, the business process transformations associated with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) implementations.  Transformations by their very nature are not quick and they are not cheap.  For many executives, it is tempting to give up on a new initiative when faced with the realities of this week’s financials.  Giving up can take many forms, some obvious and some not so obvious.  Think about one of your current transformation initiatives and ask yourself these questions.

Are you actively involved in leading the initiative on an ongoing basis?
Do you regularly monitor its progress and performance?
Do you hold people accountable for meeting their commitments?
Do you regularly and personally celebrate success?

If you cannot answer “yes” to all of these questions, your transformation initiative is likely to stall out or die completely.   If the transformation is an important part of your long term strategy, you can resolve to renew your commitment to the transformation effort in 2013.

Resolution #5:  If it’s broken, fix it now

The first four resolutions all deal with specific processes that might be “broken” in your organization.  But there may be other barriers to achieving your vision that need to be addressed.  When the barriers involve organizational or management issues, the fixes may seem too difficult or “messy” to deal with.  Unfortunately, these types of barriers do not usually resolve themselves.  By delaying action, you can actually make the situation even worse.  Ask yourself the following.

Are the functional “silos” in my organization standing in the way of achieving my vision?
Do I have one or more managers in place who are not capable of providing the leadership we need?
Am I facing active or passive resistance to the changes I want to make in my organization?

If you even suspect that the answers to one of these questions might be ”yes”, you can resolve to make 2013 your “Year of Action”.

This article is Part 1 of a six-part series.  In this article, I have identified five New Year’s resolutions that every executive can consider for 2013.  In the next five articles, I will dig a little deeper into each resolution and offer some suggestions for how the resolution might be implemented.