Ten steps to reach your goals

Making progress at work is all about planning. By Joanna Puczkowski, life coach, Horizons Regained.

Most people associate career development with promotion. But there are other ways to progress. As well as moving ‘up’ you may have ambitions to move:

• across - to another position or division within your company
• down - to take a step back, think about a change of career, or
• out - you may decide to run your own business.

Whichever way you want to move, flexibility is essential. You may have to change jobs, or move to a different town or even country. You may decide that extra training is the right way. With additional qualifications you could move into management consulting, business analysis or risk assessment and could even progress to CEO level. Alternatively, you could choose to learn a new language which may enable you to move up or to work abroad.
 
So where do you begin? You need to start by being clear about your goals. Here are my 10 tips on how to pinpoint your goals and achieve them – whether it’s to enhance your career, achieve a better life/work balance or overcome your fear of giving presentations.

1 Goals – write them down

This can be the hardest part. But deciding what you want and putting it on paper makes it real. It may even make the goal seem more achievable, leaving you thinking ‘why not?’.

2 Make goals specific

Give them a deadline. For example, ‘I will move into risk assessment within 18 months’.

3 Evidence of achievement

How will you measure success, particularly if your goal is intangible? If you want to be a better communicator, for example, ask three colleagues for feedback.

4 Resources

What do I have/need to get there - for example, time, skills, people, funds. Writing this down will make you see what is achievable and what still needs work.

5 Take control

Be proactive. Do something every day to get you closer to your goal.

6 Note the wider implications

Who/what else will be affected? For example, do you have to give something up to achieve your goal? Will your family, friends or colleagues be affected?

7 Action plan

Define the steps in small chunks (with milestones to mark achievements along the way). By breaking down your project, you can celebrate small successes and feel that you are making progress.

8 Monitor progress

You may need to make some adjustments to achieving your goal. Sometimes things just don’t go according to plan.

9 Celebrate

Feel good about achievements along the way. These small milestones are contributing to your overall objective.

10 Reality check

How excited do you feel about achieving your goals? Are you feeling motivated as you work through your plan? Do you need to change any of your decisions?

At all times you should consider your goal – what does it mean to you? How important is it? How does it fit in with your values? Doing this while following the ten steps should help you get to the places you want to be while making sure they are what you really want.

April 2007