Making Your Goals A Reality

2-minute read

How’s your goal-setting going? There is little question that developing goals is fun. The process generates enthusiasm and energy. However, the initial enthusiasm can wane amid external pressures and deadlines.

If you’ve read these posts over time, you know that I support success through incremental progress. It’s not a sexy idea, but it allows goal achievement to coexist with daily work deliverables and survive the inevitability of unexpected curveballs.

Before discussing planning and socialization, the backbones of incremental progress, let’s quickly review the logic model tool introduced in January. Logic models have two parts: the goals you want to achieve, defined as Outcomes and Impact, and the path to achieve them, defined by Input/Resources, Activities, and Outputs.

Planning

Decide on a realistic time commitment for working toward your goals. Look critically at your weekly schedule; where is the available time? Overlay that with the times of day when your energy levels and focus are the highest. When possible, schedule your goal achievement activities during these times. Managing your time and energy well is a key determinant for goal success.

Remember when you were a freshman and signed up for every club offered because they all seemed fun and exciting? Most of us quickly discovered that being a member of 10 clubs was not sustainable because there was not enough time for class and clubs. When identifying the Input/Resources and Activities you’ll need to accomplish your goals, there is often a tendency to over-commit. As you look at your resource options, channel your club sign-up memory and choose the activities that deliver the highest return for your time and attention investment.

Develop small monthly success markers. Success markers create momentum. These should be small, achievable steps toward the benchmarks and milestones you outlined in your logic model. Stay on track by dedicating a small notebook to log your progress and any new ideas that may arise. Build small monthly rewards into your schedule. Creating a small reward system will keep you focused and positive.

Socializing Your Plan

It is much easier to achieve your goals if you have socialized them and created an accountability structure. Accountability is key to staying on track. When choosing accountability partners, colleagues or your supervisor are obvious choices, but look to someone outside your work environment to serve as a sounding board and offer a different perspective. If you veer off track, your accountability partner will help you regain focus.

Utilize your one-on-one time with your supervisor to talk about goal achievement. Share your logic model and ask for feedback, as it will help to align your goals with larger performance management objectives. Ask your supervisor for guidance in prioritizing your goals and developing ideas to help you reach your monthly success markers. Structure the agenda to dedicate the beginning of the meeting to goal achievement. If your supervisor is not interested in your goals, you still have your personal accountability partner as a fallback option.

Logic models are designed to keep you disciplined and on track. Incremental progress keeps you moving toward your goals, which should be a fun and energizing process. If you find yourself weighed down by your goals, reevaluate the number of goals and focus on those with the highest skills and growth path return. Many goals take longer than one year to realize. Giving yourself space to be successful over time will yield a better result.

Having goals keeps us moving forward personally and professionally. Incremental progress builds the confidence and positive momentum needed to achieve those goals and maintain high productivity and engagement.

Here’s an additional tool: Objectives and Key Results (OKRs)