The best executives and leaders know that to be genuinely useful begins with managing oneself. Today’s managers must manage time more efficiently than ever and use that time to plan which remains vital to long-term success. Setting aside time each week to reflect, re-prioritize, at a minimum, make to evaluate how well you performed last week with the first question: how can I be even more effective next week, next month or next year? Late December and early January are the best times to review the past year’s progress toward your goals and to chart a path for the new year.

Having a positive mental attitude is by far the single best way to influence those around you. Moody managers can be impossible to work with, as employees tend to avoid you on days when you are in a bad mood. Good managers accept feedback willingly and seek input from co-workers, leaders, and employees. Never excuse your bad behavior. There is just no room in today’s business environment for making excuses. You need to have a bias for action that includes not only executing well-developed plans but seeking the opinions of others, especially when things do not go as planned. The best leaders set the example.

Proper management in 2018, requires management agility and the acceptance of change as commonplace. Getting ideas to the market ahead of the curve or ahead of the “speed of change” requires managers to think and manage in new ways. The new way to manage is to forget the customary ways of managing or even think about having a “stable workforce.” Instead, today’s new managers will be managing traditional workers right alongside with contract and temporary workers based on employee skills and desires, rather than solely on company needs. The “networked economy,” along with an increased lack of security on the job, has made millennials, the most significant group of employees in the labor force today, more willing to demand professional and creative control over the work environment. As a result, managers have much more on their proverbial plate than ever.