4 Steps to Successful Career Goal-Setting
The new year celebrations have come and gone and maybe you have already lost track of those resolutions you made. Every year millions of people resolve to make big changes in their personal and professional lives but for most, soon after the ball drops, resolutions fall to the wayside.
We often set goals for ourselves that are general and non-specific, like losing weight or moving up at work, and that is why we ultimately fail. By the way, this is actually usually true when planning for work or design projects, too. Working in HR, I have seen missed opportunities and increased stress, which results in overall decrease in productivity when goals are not met with mindfulness. Not to worry though -you can use these easy steps to create attainable goals and stay on track for 2019.
1. Identify your goals.
Start off by identifying your goals. What do you want to accomplish in 2019? Put pen to paper and write all of them down.
2. Evaluate your goals.
Pick the goals you want to tackle first. Keep in mind what goals will make the biggest or most positive impact on you this year.
3. Map roadblocks.
Once you have defined and ranked your goals, map out any roadblocks you may encounter. What stands in your way and what strategies can you use to remove these roadblocks?
4. Use a SMART strategy.
Finally, after you have created your goal getter framework, use the SMART strategy to reach your goals. What is SMART, you ask? Here we go:
Specific. Be specific with your goal setting. Define your goal, remove any ambiguous language. Think about Who, What, Where, When, Why and Which. Who is involved? What do I want to accomplish?Where will I do it?Why am I doing it? Which requirements or constraints do I have?
Imagine you are a junior designer and you are looking to become lead designer. Your goal could be “Over this next year, I want to gain the skills and experience necessary to become a lead designer on projects so that I can grow in my career and next year can lead a project team at my company”.
Measurable. How can you track your progress and measure your outcome? How much and How many? How will you know when your goal is achieved?
As that junior designer, you might measure your goal of acquiring skills to become a lead designer. How long or how many projects will it take for you to hone these skills? Obviously, it’s different in every organization but perhaps in yours, you need to prove handling stakeholders on 2 separate occasions in order to build trust to lead a project. So a goal could be creating 2 small side projects for yourself that allow those skills to shine.
Attainable. Is your goal reasonable, can It be accomplished? Make sure that your goal is within reach and up to your standards.
Moving from junior to a lead designer position is a huge leap, especially in one year, so take a look at others in your organization and see if anyone else has gotten to that level in that timeframe. If there aren’t any or a lot of examples, perhaps adjust your goal to be more about what you can do to make the path to that overarching goal more achievable. What are the skills you need to get up to the next level of Senior designer? Focusing on one level at a time will get you closer and quicker to your desired role. Always keep in mind setting goals that other people have power over, when looking at a promotion there are other people and factors that weigh in, you have control over the experience, skills and project output.
Relevant. Is your goal worthwhile and will it meet your needs? Is your goal consistent with other established goals? Will this goal meet your immediate and long-term plans?
As that junior designer, you might want to become a lead designer but does this mesh with your long-term goals? It may seem like it’s the thing you “should” do but if being a lead designer means managing people instead of doing the design work, and your whole focus is to “do” then you may not really want that goal. Make sure you are setting goals that send you on your desired career path.
Timely. Every goal should include a deadline. This will create a sense of urgency and push for better time management!
Becoming a Lead designer takes time, skills and experience. How long will it take you to hone these skills? Ask a seasoned or more senior coworker to help you gauge a realistic time frame to master these skills, accomplishing your smaller goals to get to your final objective.
And there it is — your roadmap for success. Happy Goal Getting!
