6-minute read and exercises
A monthly post generated from reflective thought and experience
This month is read-only
How quickly we’ve come upon June. Mid-year is a good time to pause and check your progress toward your role-related and career skills goals. Most of us begin the year with an optimistic sprint and lots of positive energy. Somewhere around mid-year, that energy and motivation can flag.
Goal progress check-in: Rate yourself from 1%-100%
Performance goals:
- Progress toward goals?
- How motivated are you to continue?
Career skills goals:
- Progress toward career skills goals?
- How motivated are you to continue?
If you’re not satisfied with your ratings, here is a tool that can help.
If you or your team needs a boost, use WOOP (Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, Plan) to refocus and reenergize your efforts.
W Wish (goal)-What do I want to achieve?
O Outcome-What will it look like when I’m successful?
O Obstacle-What inside me is holding me back?
P Plan-How can I overcome those obstacles?
WOOP is based on the idea that the combination of dreaming and planning is more successful than a dream without a plan or a plan without a dream.
By identifying our goals and the internal obstacles that inhibit us from achieving them, we can focus on what matters: behavior change that creates the conditions for success.
A topline on the science behind WOOP
WOOP was developed by Gabrielle Oettingen, Ph.D., a cognitive scientist studying self-regulatory thought, and its three domains: Mental Contrasting, Dwelling, and Indulging. Her work explores two fundamental questions that apply to every aspect of personal and professional human interaction.
“(1) What self-regulatory strategies can people use to turn their positive fantasies about the future into binding goals?
(2) What self-regulatory strategies can people use to disengage from their goals?”
The result of two decades of studying the reactions to these questions forms the basis of the WOOP model.
Here, we will focus on applying WOOP to work-related goals.
The benefit of WOOP
WOOP allows you to both wish and plan. Unlike a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis, which is focused on external factors, WOOP focuses on YOU; your dreams and goals, and how you can turn those into reality by identifying and addressing the internal obstacles you’ve created for yourself.
Often, it is the internal obstacles we set, not the external factors, that prevent us from achieving our goals. Once we understand our obstacles, we can plan to overcome them and achieve the outcome we seek.
The WOOP framework can be used to develop new and/or check in on existing goals.
Getting started with WOOP
Note: Download the comprehensive WOOP toolkit for guidance and templates for using WOOP to its (and your) fullest capacity.
Before you begin, you’ll need:
Uninterrupted time for the exercise
A calm frame of mind
Patience, especially if you feel stressed or burned out
We all learn and retain information differently, but writing out your WOOP exercise has the benefit of incorporating more of your sensory input; the tactical act of writing and the visual act of reading, helping to retain the information you have developed.
Writing in short phrases or bullet points makes it easier for you to remember and act on what you’ve written. Use the templates in the WOOP toolkit as a guide.
WISH (Goals)
The goals you set should be challenging, yet realistic. The goal is to expand your overall capacity, not become defeated.
For new goals:
Pick a timeframe for fulfilling your goal.
With multiple goals, stagger the timelines for completion (“What do I want to achieve in the next month, three months, year? “) to reignite your motivation with each goal achievement.
Ask: By the end of the (week/month/year), what would I like to accomplish?
Does this goal represent an achievable challenge?
Do: List your goals using short bullet points
Choose the one or two that are most important.
For existing goals:
List your goals in short bullet points with the original timeline for achievement.
Ask: Is this still the most important goal to work toward?
Is the timeline reasonable?
Do: If necessary, adjust your goals to account for any strategic, project-related, or personal shifts that have occurred since they were set.
Example we will use as illustration throughout:
Goal: A better public speaker by the end of the year
OUTCOME
The outcome step is important because it serves as a barometer for whether your goal is exciting and aspirational enough. If you’re not excited about the outcome, revise your goal. The outcome you determine guides the planning phase.
Ask: What will be different when I fulfill my goal?
Is this new reality exciting enough to be worth my time?
Do: Write your outcome as a short bullet point
Example:
Goal: A better public speaker by the end of the year
Outcome: Become more confident and visible
OBSTACLE
Defining obstacles is the secret sauce of the WOOP model. Identifying internal obstacles requires directing your creative problem-solving focus inward. You’ll need uninterrupted time to think things through. With an understanding of your internal obstacles, the planning steps become more focused and have a greater likelihood of success. With realistic plans, energy and focus follow.
Ask: What is standing in the way of me achieving my goal?
Are these obstacles internal or external?
Do: If external, redirect your thought process with these questions.
What aspects of my personality or attitudes are standing in my way?
Examples:
How am I showing up at work?
(Examples of this are “I am energized, motivated, tired, burned out, irritable”)
Understand the root cause of this behavior or attitude using the Nine Whys framework. Ask iterative questions that begin with WHY until you have discovered the root cause.
When I feel positive, energized, and motivated, what’s happening?
(Examples of this are, “I’m rested, I’m included in the conversation, “I have time to consider and reflect”). These are the conditions you’ll seek to replicate in your plan.
Focus on one obstacle that relates to your goal. Planning against too many obstacles becomes overwhelming.
Bullet-point the primary obstacle to keeping it top of mind as you plan.
Example:
Goal: A better public speaker by the end of the year
Outcome: Become more confident and visible
Obstacle: I lack confidence
PLAN
Planning is where the power of control lies. With the goal outlined, the outcome determined, and your internal obstacle identified, you are ready to create a realistic action plan.
Use the If/Then framework (I am a huge fan of the If/Then framework) to change how you respond to the environment that has created your internal obstacle.
Example from the WOOP website for overcoming your obstacle:
If (obstacle), then I will (action or thought to overcome your obstacle)
Repeat the If/Then exercise to ensure your plan is thorough.
Example:
Goal: By the end of the year, I would like to be a more confident public speaker.
Outcome: Become more confident and visible
Obstacle: I lack confidence
Plan: If I lack confidence, then I will join Toastmasters
If I lack confidence, then I will proactively seek out public speaking opportunities
With your WOOP assessment complete, you can use more traditional tools like SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Timebound) for putting the smaller steps in place to keep you motivated and moving toward the goals you’ve set.
Career growth happens from within. When we take the time to gain perspective, understand what feeds us and what holds us back, and address our internal obstacles, we become stronger, more confident people and leaders.
It’s June. The perfect time to begin creating the future you want.
Give the gift of a successful career launch
Thank you for reading.
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