Did your first quarter fly by like mine?
Between kicking off my 2024 cohort of Career Command Four-Month Shift, helping all of my news clients remind themselves of who they are and matching up the right roles to their gifts, and starting my new community – Career Connections – it’s been a bit of a whirlwind.
Full transparency – I’m behind on solidifying my Q2 goals. And writing this note is helping me to get back on track – so thanks for the space to share and also – I mention this because it’s part of a process I use for goal-setting and planning that fits with my style and my strengths.
I begin all of my goal-setting with free writing or sparky conversations with colleagues and friends.
I must start from a creative, exploratory place before I can buy in and attach my name to tasks and due dates.
My (almost) thirteen year old daughter and I have been discussing this recently. We share a personality quirk that we can easily follow rules, jump into projects and go above and beyond – when we buy into that thing – whatever it is. And when we don’t – there’s struggle, often an impasse.
If you’re aware of Gretchen Rubin’s framework of The Four Tendencies, we’re the Questioners and we’re learning how to navigate being who we are with some self-awareness, self-honoring gifts of doing the things that energize us and the tough love of – sometimes there’s just shit you have to do.
After I let my ideas percolate for a short period of time, I like to make sure they’re aligned with my values and my overarching goals for the year.
You may remember, I am prone to epiphanies and I can create new things quickly. So, I’ve built in ways to validate whether or not these new ideas fit with my overarching goals for the year that I set in December of 2023.
In addition to my revenue goals, I have Career Self Care Goals in categories like: Energy, Relationships, Growth and Positioning. These are the domains where I can get intentional about how I want my business and career to look and feel – beyond the numbers.
Sample goals in these areas:
Energy: Don’t send emails on the weekends. (I may write them, but I won’t send them)
Relationships: Continue to set two networking conversations a month with people from my career advocates list. Hint: if you don’t have a list like this, I recommend making one asap.
Growth: Research Embodiment Coaching Certification (I love thinking about all the new tools I can bring to my work!)
Positioning: Rework my LinkedIn to reflect my current offerings and messaging.
This all feels doable for me in addition to all I have on my plate already. I like to make my goals realistic and even inviting and fun. Because – we all know what happens when they’re not. Not only are you unlikely to achieve them – but you may not even set goals for the next quarter/year/ever again.
I’m curious to hear more about how you’re thinking of goal setting. What has worked for you in the past? How do you continue to tweak your process? How can you make it fit with your personality, your style and your strengths?