Creating Your Professional Goals
By: Desiree Musselman, Desired Effects Coaching
Tags: Leadership Skills, Goal Setting, Vision Board, Professional Development, Leadership Development

In preparation for putting 2020 behind us, I wanted to focus on professional life goal setting for 2021. This is not your standard goal setting. You know what I am talking about. We write a few ideas down on paper that we never look at again, or we commit to a new goal (exercise program, personal finance goal, fill in the blank) that “we are really going to do this time!” and something stops us from seeing it through to the end. This is our professional goal list that we are going to set goals for. And if you are thinking, “I already make my budgeting and sales projections, what more is there?” or “I already spend enough time doing work I want to have more at home.” This is for you!

I am talking about full-on, proactive, successful leadership development planning.

To shed more light on this topic, let me ask you a couple of questions. When was the last time you sat down and planned out how you were going to increase your employee’s engagement and your communication skills? Or how about the last time you wrote down your strengths and weaknesses and formulated a plan to use or enhance them?

If your answer was not in a while, or for some of us, not ever, then this is a great opportunity that is knocking on your door to help you step up your leadership game. (if you are looking at your to-do list and thinking you have zero time available to focus on this right now, read this article first!)

Over the next four weeks, I will be posting tips and training on designing a game plan that will help you create a more actionable vision for your professional goals and how to maintain your desire and motivation to see them through.

First, we are going to start by creating a vision for your professional life. To do that, let’s start with a couple of things for you to mull over.

· Do you struggle to design and carry out a vision for your life?

· Do you find yourself living day to day without a plan and feeling like you’re more reactive than proactive?

Discover some inspiring tips on how to develop a vision for 2021 below:

1. Allow some time in your schedule to do nothing but reflect on how you are showing up in your professional life. Having time to look back over your interactions with your team, peers, and executive team is integral in developing yourself. When you consistently do this, you will begin to understand how you, as a leader, affect the people who work with you and start to find how you are either supporting them or missing the mark.

2. Open your mind. Stay curious about how your strengths and weaknesses. Have open conversations seeking feedback from people at all levels that work with you. It will help you develop a clear game plan for yourself while also building stronger connections with those around you. Maybe someone on your team has a different view or more experience dealing with something you are struggling with and can mentor you. When you are open and curious, keep a few things in mind.

· This process might be a challenge, but the end result will take you to greater success.

· Choose who you get feedback from carefully. Does the person have your best interest in mind? Have they supported you in the past when you have stumbled? Do they have the same challenges you are having?

· Don’t be afraid to ask the employees that report directly to you. They can have some of the best feedback you need to hear, even if you don’t want to listen to it!

3. Feel free to jot down some notes. Think about what you have accomplished thus far in your journey as a leader. What has worked well? What has not worked well? Write them out. Doing so will cultivate more thoughts on what you’ve experienced and why. Are you still acting on the things that worked for you before? Why or why not? Do you need to let go of bad habits? Why are you still holding on to habits if they aren’t serving you?

4. Be honest with yourself about any interactions you have had that you felt you could have handled better. What would you change if you could do it all over again? Did you own your part in what went sideways either at the time or later?

· Self-awareness is a big part of emotional intelligence and necessary to be a successful leader.

· Looking back now, what do you see as your biggest mistakes?

· Did some of those “mistakes” actually turn out to be wise? Why? Did they lead you down a path that you now see as more in tune with what you really want?

5. Build intentional routines that will serve you instead of sabotage you. Routines are important and powerful. They allow us to save time by not having to make decisions. They can support you, your vision, and your goals, or they can work against what you want. We all have routines, but few of us actually chose our routines. We just seem to fall into them, and we keep our routines unless they’re obviously failing. (We will explore this in more detail in another article this month.)

6. Set goals detailing how you want to improve. Once you are clear on your strengths and weaknesses, make a new list of your current goals and ideas you want to explore in the future. (Not sure where to start? Click here to learn about the Energy Leadership Assessment and hit the ground running.) Explore the items that will bring you the most ROI for the year and create clear plans that detail all of the steps to get there.

· Maybe you have an employee that has the potential to move up in the company. What can you do to help them gain confidence in themselves and hone their skills? Create the mini-goals necessary to help you meet your main goal of helping that employee succeed. Leave nothing out. For example, if you need to make training available to them or open up more time to mentor them, write out a plan on how you can make that happen. They could even be a great person to delegate more responsibility to and open up your plate.

· Check off each smaller goal you accomplish as you work toward the larger, overall goal. It will feel great when you do, and you will begin to see your goals becoming a reality.

7. Post your goals where you can see them. Put them on your computer monitor, Smartphone, electronic pad, and bulletin board. Put a copy by your favorite chair in the living room where you can re-read them often. In short, ensure your vision is right in front of you much of the time. There is a reason the saying is out of sight, out of mind.

8. Make your vision compelling. When you don’t have a vision for the future that excites and motivates you, it’s very challenging to keep putting in the time and effort necessary to accomplish a big goal. Without a compelling end, each step forward can feel like torture. (We will be covering this in-depth next week.)

9. Create a vision board. To do this, post pictures, steps for best practices, and inspiring words related to the goals you choose on your board. Your vision board is a reminder of what you’re working toward every day and the tools you can use to get there. (We will dive into this more in a future article.)

10. Make your leadership skills a priority. To create the future you have envisioned, you must keep your development plan at the top of your priorities. When making decisions in the future, consider options that will support your professional life vision.

Developing your professional life vision will take time, reflection, and work, but the rewards will be great. Your work life will be filled with passion and optimism once you develop your vision.

Are you looking at getting a leg up on your 2021 game plan? Click the link to take the Energy Leadership Index Assessment and receive a personalized debrief session to lay the foundation for your 2021 goal planning. Only $245 if you purchase before February 2021 (Regularly $395).