Every January we get the chance to start over. We get to create new standards and norms for ourselves.
We can do that anytime, but January gives us the opportunity to say we’re going to start the New Year off right.
With a fresh start.
A new beginning.
A chance to do things differently.
I do it by making a list of all the things I’m grateful for and want to take with me into the New Year. Then I make a list of all the things I’m releasing and letting go of.
And finally I write a letter to myself dated for the start of the next year, (so yesterday I wrote a letter dated January 1, 2027), that has all of the things in it that I want to look back on having done throughout the year.
The same way we can create new standards for ourselves, we get to do that on our teams and in our workplaces as well.
Every team has communication standards and norms.
Some are named.
Most aren’t and are just assumed.
January offers us a chance to start over and to actively create new expectations and norms.
What usually happens without anyone explicitly saying “these are the expectations” is that people just slip into certain roles and then assumptions are made about:
- How quickly someone is *supposed* to respond
- Who picks up the slack when the sh*t hits the fan
- Who’s responsible for handling the conflict that everyone else avoids
And that can lead to resentment because assumptions were made and no one talked about what the expectations actually are.
So, here’s how I’d suggest we think about standards going into the new year:
Explicitly state what the communication standards are.
That way the expectations are clear and everyone is on the same page.
In my line of work, we called them rules of engagement.
Not because we expected conflict, but because having clearly defined rules for how we engaged with and interacted with others provided clarity.
Everyone knew what to expect.
And that helped prevent conflict.
You can pick whatever standards you think would be most helpful to have explained and laid out for you and your team.
But here are four that I think are helpful.
Four communication standards that should be explained so there’s no confusion.
Here are some questions to help you flesh out what the standards are for responsiveness, meetings, feedback, and disagreement.
1. Responsiveness
- What’s urgent vs. important? For example, something might be important, but getting the correct answer (even if it takes a little longer) might be acceptable vs. throwing together a quick response that doesn’t actually answer the question.
- How quickly are people expected to respond? Does that depend on their position or the time of day (nights, weekends, etc.)?
- Does it depend on who’s asking and/or the subject matter?
2. Meetings
- What are the criteria for a meeting vs. an email?
- When do they happen? For example, some companies have a policy where they don’t schedule meetings after 4pm to help ensure maximum attendance.
- Who speaks? Does that depend on who’s present in the meeting?
- What happens after the meeting?
3. Feedback
- How is it given?
- Publicly or privately?
- How direct is it?
- How often can people expect to receive it?
4. Disagreement
- What are the boundaries for disagreements?
- How should employees express concerns?
- How does repair happen when situations get out of hand? For example, if someone was yelled at publicly would an apology also be delivered publicly?
If you’re not a manager you can ask your manager some of these questions so you can figure out what the communication standards are.
That way you know how to navigate them.
And if you are a manager then you can work with your team to create new standards and norms.
If you don’t clarify the standards then you’re leaving the door open for misunderstandings and lots of confusion.
Here’s a reflection question.
What standards would save you the most time and energy if you named them and put them into place now?
There might be a lot you can think of off the top of your head.
Maybe pick one of those and then think about how you can make it a clear, explicitly stated standard that everyone agrees to going forward.
Here’s to a clear, fresh start in 2026,
Judnefera
