7 Steps to Achievable Goals
As a manager, you are charged with getting stuff done. Getting stuff done…Execution… is defined as the carrying out of a plan, order, or course of action. The problem: You or your team have too much to do and not enough time.
Are you feeling like you can’t catch a breath? Ever felt like you can’t make headway on your goals? Well, you’re not alone. The workplace has changed. Most organizations are running flat and lean. That means resources are tight, and alignment up, down, and across the organization is key to succeeding.
Additionally, success isn’t defined as achieving the company’s goal. The pandemic has changed everyone’s definition of success. Burnout, overwhelm, too many tasks are burdening employees and causing many to redefine the definition of a good workplace.
What if you could increase your ability to do what’s most important to you? What if you could see a way to achieve what is most important to you and your feeling of well-being? What would it mean to you if you could envision you in the future experiencing a sense of success?
It may come as no surprise to you to learn there is much more to success than just setting your goals. In this article, I show you why many people fail to achieve their goals and how to be successful with whatever you want to achieve in your life.
1. A goal or a vision
A goal is a target that is achievable in measurable, attainable steps. It is more than just a desire or a need and has an existence of its own. A desire or a wish is less tangible and often just fleeting. Who doesn’t desire or wish to win the lottery? A goal is a desire, wish, or need achievable by actions you can take. It is more than a mere wish or desire.
A goal is different than a vision statement. A vision statement describes what’s to be achieved in the long term. Vision statements describe the impact of your actions. My vision is to create leaders capable of unleashing the power of teams and where inclusion and equity are the norm not the exception.
2. How to set a goal?
Setting a goal is a process that starts with a need or desire. A goal can relate to any desire, wish, or need achievable by actions you can take.
You then break down the goal into small individual steps or actions. Achievable goals are goals where you can influence their realization and measure your progress towards them. Achieving long-term life-changing goals is starts with achieving, step by step, short and medium-term actions.
3. Determine what actions are required?
Goals require action on your part. You first need to decide what action is required to achieve the goal. Your first action is always to write your goals down. By actually putting pen to paper, you give your goals an existence of their own.
Writing a plan is an essential step in achieving your goals – without it, you will, over time, amend the long-term goal to fit your reality. As a result, you will eventually reduce the goal to a wish, and wishes only come true by chance.
4. Analyze the results
You then need to analyze and work out in detail how you will accomplish each individual goal. This means writing a detailed plan of what tangible actions are required to achieve each individual goal.
5. What steps do I need to take today?
Every day ask yourself, “What 1 – 2 essential steps do I need to take today?”. Then, make sure you take each step every day. If you discover additional steps are needed, add them to the plan.
6. Review what you’ve done every week and at the end of the month
Every week review your progress for the week. Check what you’ve done and what you may have missed. Then, adjust your plan for the next week or month.
Your plan should always consider what you will do today, tomorrow, this week, next week before the end of the month, in the next 3 months, 6 months…? Then, always write down your results.
7. What if things go wrong?
Goals are challenging because they move you outside your comfort zone to do things differently. To be successful, you have to face your own fear of failure and take risks. There will be setbacks. Expect them. They are part of the process.
The biggest mistake most people make is looking for perfection. So they put off making goals or giving up because life gets in the way. What may have caught your eye to read this post is the phrase, “Are you feeling like you can’t catch a breath?”
It’s the feeling of being out of control. You’re feeling like whatever you do, it just isn’t enough. So next month, I’ll offer a few tips on building support and eliminating the feeling like you can’t catch a breath.