As a leadership coach and mentor I work with clients who sometimes struggle to achieve their desired goals.  

 

As busy professionals it can be hard to make time for your goals when you are dealing with life, juggling priorities, and coming up against all manner of obstacles, distractions and barriers that get in the way.  

 

When setting new goals, I encourage my clients to think ‘big’ and take time to crystallise a clear vision of what they want to achieve. As soon as they have established a clear vision of their goal, I ask them to think about how this goal is aligned to their values and to clarify the purpose of achieving this goal - in others words, what would it mean to them personally to achieve this success.   

 

I often use the following  3 x P’s as a principal for goal setting which might be helpful:

 

• Purpose - be clear about what you want and more importantly why you want to achieve this goal 

• Passion - you are more likely to succeed with your set goals if it is a desire or passion for you  

• Perseverance - the key to achieving any successful goal is perseverance and persistence  

 

As we enter this new decade some of us will be thinking about new goals for the future, but how do you keep going with your goals when ‘life is happening'?   

 

I have set out 5 steps to keep you inspired and motivated  when dealing with potential roadblocks that might derail you from successfully achieving your set goals.   

 

Step 1

Commit your goals to paper.  Once you have set and clearly defined your goal, you are more likely to achieve it if you commit it to paper.  Write it down with clear details on what you want and why you want it.  

 

Step 2

Have a purpose for your goal success.  Make sure your goal is aligned to a purpose and if possible underpinned by your passion or desire -  ideally this should be aligned to your values.

 

Step 3

Be accountable!  Get yourself a Goal Buddy or invest in a Coach/Mentor who can support and challenge you in how your thoughts, actions and behaviours are impacting on your goal success.

 

Step 4

Consider all potential resources.  Assess your own skills/qualities and that of others around you to find resources of inspiration and motivation that can assist you in achieving your success. Psychometric profiles can also be a rich source of behavioural insight. Why not try our free Psychometric Test to help you to understand  your own Leadership style.

 

Step 5

Check-in with your goals on a regular/weekly basis.  I love the Daily Questions model set out in Marshall Goldsmith’s book ‘Triggers’ on page 128 where daily self-assessment questions are considered in monitoring the achievement of set goals.  Ask yourself this daily question: “Did I do my best today to [achieve this goal]?” This is a great way to identify if any old habits are blocking new opportunities so that you can manage undesirable behaviours and remove any roadblocks to your success.

Remember that regular goal setting and planning will help you stay focused, and a weekly record will help you stay on track.

 

I hope your goal setting for this new decade brings the success you desire. 

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Sue Bedward, MBL Founder