How to Stand Out at the End of the Year

There's one thing that makes people stand out this time of year.

It has nothing to do with what they're doing right now.

Most people have been heads-down all year, cranking out deliverables, diligently attending back-to-back meetings, striving for inbox zero and indiscriminately putting out fires as they pop up.

Working hard, for sure. 

And not tracking their impact. 

So now they're in panic mode, knowing they put in tons of effort but at a loss for how to demonstrate the value they brought all year. 

With performance reviews on the horizon and compensation and promotions at stake, they're compiling laundry lists of tasks they completed and feeling very unimpressed by them. 

"I just did my job," I often hear, with a heavy dose of discouragement. 

Yes, and...you haven't given much thought to the actual impact. 

And you're likely leaving people wondering what you actually do and whether you're operating at the level they're paying you for. 

It's certainly not putting you on track for a raise or promotion. 

If you're confused, you're not alone. You were taught to work hard, to be agreeable and reliable and that you'd be rewarded for it.

Here's what's missing in that formula:

Your end-of-year assessment needs to demonstrate that you didn't spend the year caught up in busywork.

It's not about how much you did, but why you did it, how you decided what to focus on and the overall impact you delivered.

That you're thinking strategically, not simply doing whatever's put in front of you.

What if, from the start of the year, you paused before saying "yes," and managed your time confidently, leaving space to track your progress and consider the impact regularly.

You'd make high-quality decisions, focus your effort on priorities and be ready to articulate, at any given moment, exactly how your work matters. 

And now, at the end of the year, you'd be one of the few people calmly preparing to finish the year off, looking forward to your performance review, expecting recognition of a job well done. 

Knowing that you did all you could to elevate your impact and ensure you're not overlooked. 

You can start your year off in a whole new way, sharpening your leadership presence, building your personal authority and confidently letting go of busywork in favor of impactful action. 

So when review time rolls around again, you're one of the stand-outs.