Goal Setting for Career Advancement

Here is why you really need to think about this👇🏻 A client vented their frustrations recently, that they were nowhere near achieving the goals they had set for themselves at the start of the year. They had become so overwhelmed as time went on, that their goals seemed to almost be out of reach and they now spent more time stressing about these goals than actually actioning them. Sound familiar? I have definitely fallen into that trap myself in the past.😆 Here is how I helped them overcome this mental block (because that is exactly what it is). Their goals hadn't changed but their mindset had and mindset will determine success or failure! Like all goals, unless they are backed by lots of small steps that are easy to implement, they all tend to fade away. Goal setting is a process that starts with careful consideration of what you want to achieve, and ends with a lot of hard work to actually do it. In between, there are some very well-defined steps that transcend the specifics of each goal. Knowing these steps will allow you to formulate goals that you can accomplish. ✏ Write it down and say it out loud - Saying what you want to achieve out loud creates an accountability to ourselves and those we say it to, to actually do something about it. 🧠 Make it SMART - Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-Bound. 🤏 Approach in bite size chunks - focus on one small, achievable change every week. Then enjoy the accumulation effect. 🤼Find an accountability buddy - An accountability buddy is someone who helps you stay on track while you work toward achieving your goals. 🥂 Set review milestones and celebrate successes - Take some time to think about what went well, what went wrong and what you want to focus your energy on for the rest of the year. Celebrate all your successes, no matter how small. By using this strategy, my client can now focus their energy on taking smaller, actionable steps towards their goals. It’s a surprisingly simple formula but it works every time. Can anyone relate to this? #mindset #goals #achievement #careeradvancement

Most organizations create strategies for the new year during the latter half of the previous year. This process involves data gathering, analysis, and, ideally, foresight, dialogue, and agreement. In contrast, people often make "New Year's resolutions" at the last minute, and over 90% of these resolutions are abandoned within the first two months. We don't need to spend excessive time creating a personal strategy, but I've found that reflecting and then taking action is crucial if we care about growth. Here’s a strategic four-step framework to help you start setting your vision for 2025: 1. Define Your Purpose (Ambitious Goal) This is your "North Star"—guiding what you want to achieve this year. Reflect on what you'll be proud of by the end of 2025. I used to spend a week each year in a remote place for my purpose quest. I miss those days, but now I follow an "accelerated" version of the process, ensuring I dedicate enough time and energy to it. 2. Create Progress Goals (Checkpoints) Think of these as a halfway camp on a mountain climb. Break down annual goals into quarterly milestones to track your progress. (The dashboard I'm sharing below will support you in these two steps.) 3. Design Daily Systems "You do not rise to the level of your goals; you fall to the level of your systems." Identify 2-3 daily actions for tangible progress. 4. Define Your Anti-goals Consider what you won't sacrifice on your journey. These ensure balance across your life pillars. I've developed a "Dashboard for Goals Advancement" to align personal and professional aspirations across four pillars. For me, it's important to set goals that help me grow holistically: P: Professional Growth (Business and career development) A: Allies (Family, Friends, and Community) T: Thriving Health (Health and Well-being) H: Higher Meaning (Purpose, Faith, or Spiritual Connection) Download a free copy here: https://lnkd.in/egMwP5Xd As Christensen's book "How Will You Measure Your Life?" highlights, your resource allocation—time, energy, talent—shapes your life strategy. Misallocate them, and life may take unexpected turns. Happy 2025! Explore more tools for strategic growth and innovation: https://lnkd.in/ef2VTy5S #GoalSetting #Innovation #PersonalDevelopment #Strategy

The best development conversation I ever had happened 15 years ago. It started with a “simple” question. Where do you want to be in 2045? This conversation was with my first commander after becoming a pilot in the US Air Force. He is one of the best leaders I have ever worked for and said he had had many of these conversations before. “I find it easiest to start at the end,” he said. Did I want to be a General? Did I want to become an airline pilot? Did I want to do something else entirely? My answer to that initial question would inform how the rest of the conversation would go. He didn’t expect my answer, but that is another story. This advice of starting at the end is true for every goal. You need to start with an idea of where you want to go in the longer term, in order to know what you need to do in the short term. This is why I like to break goals into two parts: A long-term direction A short-term target The long-term direction is just that, a direction. I don’t know exactly where I want to end up, but I have a general idea. When thinking even 12 months in the future, it isn’t worth spending that much time creating a detailed vision of where you want to be because things change. The short-term target is another story. You want this to be as precise as possible so you know the exact actions you need to take and can measure if you have achieved it. So for me, goal setting looks like this: Where do you want to be in 12 months? What do you need to do in the next 3 months, to be on track for that 12 month goal? After 3 months, you measure where you are at and then create a new 12 month goal. That keeps you moving forward and learning from what you either achieve or fail to achieve. Where do you want to be in 12 months? #Goals #Progress #GoalSetting

What advice do you have for someone focusing on career progression? ✏️ I worked with someone who had a five-year plan, and she was able to make her career decisions by whether or not they aligned with the plan. I was amazed, having never had a one-year, much less five-year plan for my own career. Having grown my own career "organically" rather than to a plan, and having worked with many who have a plan, I can attest to the value of having a plan, if you are focusing on career progression. But remember - it's okay to not focus on career progression. When making a career plan, it's important to break it down into big picture, long term objectives, which then get refined to specific "SMART"* goals for short term, measurable steps aligned with the objectives. Think about it like this: 1️⃣ What's my 5-year vision? High level, where do I want to be? 2️⃣ What's a key growth metric I'd like to "level up" in this year? 3️⃣ What am I doing this quarter (SMART goals)? 4️⃣ What are the activities I'm working on (daily/weekly) to meet the goals? 5️⃣ How am I making sure I have time for everything on a daily basis? By going from big picture to small details it helps not overwhelm yourself with everything you must do to meet your long-term goals. It also means your plan stays adaptable. You can't predict the future, so having detailed tasks assigned years out means you probably have to revise your plan frequently as life deals out its surprises. This model works for any sort of long-term growth but can be particularly relevant to career progression. When you know where you want to end up, and learn what is needed to be there, you can set the short term, SMART goals along the way to get there. While I haven't had a 5-year plan, I have used this approach for 1-year and 90-day planning. I've attached a single page template I use for my own planning - it goes from the year (top line vision) down to the day at the bottom - with space in the middle for a 90-day outlook and important things to track. Message me if you'd like a copy of the PDF. I'd love to hear your thoughts on achieving goals and personal vision statements, or other techniques you've used when focusing on career growth. What worked for you? What could be improved in what I suggest? Let's talk below! 👇 * Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound

Set a goal and make a plan for your career growth and your learning path. It doesn't matter if all the things are not known, just make a rough plan anyway. In the early part of my career, I used to just go with the flow. I would find something interesting, learn it, master it, and then move on to the next thing. I still carry an open mind towards learning, and I'm certainly not a natural planner, but I've learnt that a plan can help focus your efforts towards a worthwhile goal. I used to avoid planning because the future was always unknown. Yes, the exact future is unknown, but without a plan, you have no effective way to prioritise your actions today. Don't think of a plan as being restricted, it's more a conscious framework to take decisive action when decisions are needed. This can be useful to decide whether to take a new role for example. It's a great example because sometimes this can be a tough decision to make. Most likely you will also be asked in interviews what your career goal and plan looks like! Good recruiters and hiring managers will ask you because they want the role to be a good fit on both sides. If you have a goal and a plan, it's much easier to make decisions. If you think an opportunity aligns to your goal and career plan, then go for it. Clearly articulating your desire for the future can also be a huge benefit when engaging with mentors or senior leaders. Make your career goals and plans known to those who could be able to help you. Craft your plan with your mentors and senior leaders in mind. How can they help you? They're there to help, and making the most of the time and effort they put into you will result in a more satisfying and successful working relationship. You'll always have imperfect information available to you, and sometimes things can go a bit sideways, but taking intentional steps to achieve a defined goal will eventually get you to the target.