2024 is fast approaching! Now that you have recharged your batteries and enjoyed some good family time, it is time to make new resolutions for the year ahead.
At Prime Conseil, we have racked our brains to put together a selection of 10 resolutions for contract managers which, if you keep them, will without doubt make for a successful and fulfilling year.
1. Get (back) into sport!
The festive excesses are over: time to get (back) to it, because staying at the top of your game means looking after yourself. Block out regular slots in your diary for sport. It will help you unwind, reduce stress and sharpen your focus at work.
2. List last year's successes
We often tend to dwell on what did not work, on the oversights and the near-misses, and to point to shortcomings and areas for improvement. Yet recognising your past achievements is an excellent way to stay motivated. Take the time to list your successes from 2023, big or small. It will help you recognise your worth and build on those foundations for 2024.
3. Keep training
Like many disciplines, contract management is constantly evolving! Identify a course or a certification that could improve your skills, hard or soft. Whether it is a seminar, an online course or a professional certification, what matters is that you nurture your thirst for learning and your curiosity!
4. Widen your network
Internally and externally, cultivate your network! Make 2024 the year of networking, with colleagues and peers alike. Meeting new people can open doors, help win recognition for your role as a contract manager and, more broadly, bring you fresh perspectives on your work.
5. Ask for feedback
It is always hard to see yourself accurately and objectively. Some even have an unfortunate tendency to underrate themselves. For those reasons, it is essential to gather constructive feedback from those around you. Do not hesitate to ask colleagues, managers and even clients for their views. It will help you identify areas for improvement and excel in your role.
6. Set yourself clear and varied objectives
Define clear objectives for 2024. Make sure they are varied (do include some quick wins, which are good for morale), realistic and measurable, the well-known SMART objectives. They can cover different aspects of your working life, such as developing skills, improving processes or strengthening client relationships. These objectives will help you hold a course through the storm of claims, negotiations and tenders.
7. Refresh the layout of your desk
New year, new desk! A change of environment can boost creativity and productivity. In 2024, rearrange or redecorate your workspace, whether at home if you work remotely or at the office. It can be as simple as adding plants, a new wallpaper, or changing the way your desk is laid out.
8. Cultivate your enthusiasm
We say it often: there are those who see the glass half full, and those who see it half empty… better to be in the #TeamHalfFull camp! Enthusiasm is contagious and can transform your work. Cultivate a positive, energetic attitude. It will improve not only your own experience at work but that of your colleagues too.
9. Create a positive routine
Another important resolution: set up a weekly routine that includes moments you enjoy. When we talk about routine, we often picture slippers, the sofa and the TV… nothing of the sort! A routine can also be stimulating and positive. Whether it is a coffee break with a colleague, a moment of meditation or reading an inspiring article, build small rituals you enjoy into your week.
10. Think contracts… but not only!
The contract manager's job is stressful, demanding and sits at the crossroads of many disciplines (sales, procurement, projects, and so on). We sometimes meet contract managers who, swallowed up by their day-to-day work and eaten away by stress, struggle to lift their heads and step outside the contract to look at a situation from a different angle. In 2024, do not forget that life is not made of contracts alone: take time for yourself and for those close to you.