The End-of-Year greeting from the Leadership Team
Perceive, acknowledge, thank and transition
With an end-of-year greeting from the leadership team, you can honour the past year, thank your members or staff, bring them along on important topics and emphasise that you see them, their needs and their challenges. At the same time, you can create a transition and motivate them for the start of the coming year.
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4 minutes
Connection and Motivation
A strong, engaging end-of-year message can motivate everyone – especially in times of crisis – and gives your members the sense of being connected to you and your organisation and of being in good hands. Of course, not every leader is born a great speaker or writer. Nor do they need to be – finding the right words can be learned.
With these tips you will succeed:
What belongs in the End-of-Year Greeting?
Good addresses, whether written or delivered via video, are concise, clear and focused on the essentials – this naturally applies to the review of the year as well. What were your highlights? What were your most important topics this year? Where were you especially successful or even ahead of the competition? Choose no more than three topics that you want to address in your end-of-year message.
Tip: Ideally, also look for events and situations that not everyone knows yet. This increases excitement and attention. Consider: In which situations were you stressed this year (and how was that stress resolved). When did you feel truly happy despite all the difficulties, for example those caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Which situation pleasantly surprised you.
Think of concrete experiences you can use as examples. The conclusion might then be: “That was just a small anecdote. But to me it shows a lot. For example, why exchange is so important and what wonderful people I get to work with every day.”
Are you allowed to express Criticism?
Reporting negative things is a mood killer and does not belong in your end-of-year address. Projects that went wrong or planned cost-cutting measures should be left for more appropriate occasions.
But: If you are currently in a crisis, do not gloss over the situation. Instead, try to convey confidence: “We have already achieved so much together. We will also overcome this situation.” Or: “You all know that next year won’t be a walk in the park for us. But if we stick together, we will get through it.”
Make it clear: Without your members or your staff, your association or decentralised organisation would not be what it is today. Show clear gratitude and appreciation for their participation. This will strengthen connection and activity. Because those who feel seen and valued will take part more actively.
Transition into the new Year
Even though the period just before Christmas lends itself to looking back, do not limit your address to past events: also look ahead. What goals exist for the next year, what is already planned.
No time?
Should you be too busy in the final weeks of the year to write this message yourself, we have a tip for you:
Let someone help you. Surely there is a rhetorically skilled person in your team who can support you. Do not let this opportunity pass due to lack of time.
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