Tips for Setting Learning Goals

As I consult with clients across industries, I see people working hard. But I also see wasted effort. The waste occurs because team members did not have a clear end-state. Instead, they create a lot of action through goal setting. The caution is that action does not equal progress. To help you, here is the outcome-driven technique I use with my team and clients. When executed well, it can improve performance immediately.   1. Start with the end in mind and describe what it looks like. Goal setting is valuable. It measures action well–but it assumes that if X happens, Y will occur. For example, if you take a project management class, then you will be a better project manager. You can see how this plays out. The person enrolls in and takes the project management course, and then checks the box. Goal completed. But why take the course? What if the intent was this instead: “By the end of June, I need you to be leading x kind of project without me needing to be involved in its daily operations”? This helps better establish what success would look like for the individual. This approach defines the end state and the why we are seeking in their development. In doing so, it changes the conversation from “attend a course” (where it assumes I know the solution) to “how do we help you achieve that?” (which engages the person to define potential solutions). 2. After the end is established, discuss options to achieve it. This step is a key difference from most performance reviews, because instead of the leader defining the action (if…then…), it places accountability on the individual to think about what and where they need development to “get there.” Is it a course? Is it shadowing another person? Is it a confidence challenge? By approaching this through establishing what the end state looks like, the review shifts into a coaching discussion where root causes and options are defined and refined, creating a better plan to pursue. 3. Establish goals to measure progress toward the end state. This is when goals become useful. They establish points along the way to check progress toward the agreed-upon outcome. If a goal is met, then we should reflect to see if it helped move toward the end state. If it did not, then an additional action or goal may be needed. In the example above, if the person did complete the project management course, but they are not ready to lead the project without your involvement, then why? Did the course not address their development need? Is there still something else needed to get them ready to lead? The shift from goal-leading to outcome-driven performance development is profound. It is not easy or fast on the front-end. It requires more conversation and coaching. But in the long run, by engaging the team members in their development, the quality and value of their performance will improve substantially. #leadfortomorrow #outcomes

People often ask me how I manage to do so much ongoing professional development learning. 🧠 It's simple! Well, kind of. I utilize my operational skills, which makes it easier. 😎 I use a Trello board (board pictured below is not mine) to track and prioritize my ongoing learning goals. Then, I time-block out dedicated time for the learning in my schedule. I also use Cultured Code's Things 3 app to help manage my day to day priorities. BUT -- how do I prioritize what I want to learn next? Easy: 1. I look at job postings for future roles I would want, and look at skill gaps. 2. I pay attention to where I feel skill gaps in my current job, especially with partner groups. 3. I track what skills are in the highest demand for consulting (for whenever I get back into my consulting business 😎) 4. I listen to CMO interviews to hear their pain points so I can learn any skills I need to solve those problems for them. 5. I leave room for reprioritization/taking advantage of time-limited or newly-discovered learning opportunities. That's it! That's the playbook. 😌 It sounds like a lot, but it becomes pretty easy once you operationalize it and get into a cadence. How do you manage your ongoing learning? 🤔 #marketing #revenueoperations #elearning #professionaldevelopment

𝐆𝐨𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐬   As individuals complete their academic journey and enter the professional environment, they will encounter tasks involving goal setting and the creation of a development plan. Here are a few tips about how to get started and sustain the momentum.   𝐆𝐨𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠   Creating a goal plan involves a systematic approach to defining your objectives, outlining the steps needed to achieve them, and establishing a timeline for completion.   Identify your specific goals making sure that they are clear, specific, and measurable. Gain alignment with supervisors and teammates on how success will be defined for each goal.   Prioritize your goals by determining their relative importance, factoring in questions around urgency, alignment with your long-term objectives, and potential impact on your career growth. Break each goal into smaller, manageable tasks or milestones.   Assign realistic deadlines to each milestone or task.   Develop a detailed action plan for each goal, outlining the specific steps you need to take to accomplish it. Include resources you may require and any potential obstacles or challenges you might encounter. Consider strategies to overcome them.   Review your goal plan and track your progress on a regular basis as this approach will allow you to understand whether you are on track and additional actions may be required to achieve those objectives.   Finally, goals can and will change with additional information, new priorities, and new opportunities.   𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠   Creating a development plan involves assessing your current skills and competencies, identifying areas for improvement, and outlining a plan of action to enhance your professional capabilities.   Conduct a self-assessment of your strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement.   Reflect on your current skills, knowledge, and experiences, and consider the skills and competencies required to advance in your desired career path.   Set specific and measurable development goals. These goals should be aligned with your career aspirations and address the areas you want to improve.   Explore the various development opportunities available to you. This could include attending workshops, seminars, or conferences, enrolling in courses or certifications, seeking mentorship, participating in industry associations, or taking on challenging projects or assignments.   Develop a detailed plan of action outlining the steps you need to take to enhance your skills and competencies.   Determine the resources you will need to support your development plan. Start implementing your development plan by engaging in the identified activities.   Track your progress over time against these goals.   Actively seek feedback from mentors, supervisors, or colleagues who can provide guidance and support with different perspectives and suggestions for improvement. #development #career  

I've coached over 100 pro athletes in the last 10+ years. What helps them rise to the top of their game is how they set their goals. 7 tactics to set goals like a pro: Goals are simply targets we give ourselves to hit. Goals improve motivation, enhance our consistency, and give us the chance to experience meaning and progress. The best athletes use goals to push themselves to greater and greater heights. Here's how. 1. Write it down Don't just leave the goal in your head. Write it down, and put it somewhere you can see it often. Review it regularly. 2. Work backwards Begin with the end in mind. Start with figuring out where you want to end up, and then reverse engineer the steps to get there. Then shift your focus from the long-term outcome to the daily steps. 3. Don't just start, make a plan Goals are like like your destination in a GPS. You know where you want to go. Now you need a step-by-step guide to get there. Make a plan for what you want to do on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis to make your progress real. 4. Balance hard with realistic If you set a goal that's too easy, it won't be motivating. If you set a goal that's too hard, you'll give up at the first sign of no progress. Find what's just outside your current range, and aim to get there. 5. Don't do it alone The best athletes in the world have coaches for a reason. These coaches provide feedback, outside insights, and direction for bringing the goal to life. Use someone just a bit further in their journey to help you and hold you accountable. 6. Monitor daily, not all at once The best athletes check in on their progress every single day. This lets them know where they are, how far they've come, and where they need to go. It also lets them refine on a daily basis. Reflect on them often. 7. Celebrate along the way Working on anything meaningful is hard. Find ways to celebrate your small wins and where you've made progress. This "winner effect" will keep you going over the long-term, build confidence, and inspire setting more goals in the future.

As we get back into the office today at Office Dynamics International, I want to talk with you about the importance of setting SMART Goals. We often set New Year's Resolutions that are seldom maintained. The start of the new year often encourages us to want to set new goals. SMART Goals create a framework for us to follow to help us set goals that we can actually reach: Specific: Make clear, precise goals. For instance, attending a particular training or enrolling in a certain course is a lot more specific than saying, "I want to receive more training for my profession." Measurable: Goals should be quantifiable to track progress. If they are not, you will not be able to measure your growth. Achievable: Set realistic and attainable goals. It's good to set the bar higher, but don't make it too lofty that you discourage yourself. Relevant: Your goals need to be relevant to your personal or career aspirations. Time-bound: Goals need a deadline or timeframe so you can hold yourself to a standard and make sure that you are working towards completing them. As administrative professionals, we should always be working towards goals that better ourselves and challenge us to go above and beyond where we are currently at. Your future self will thank you for it.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗧𝗼 𝗘𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗚𝗼𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁 𝗜𝗻 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗕𝗲𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 - Setting a development goal is easy; achieving that goal is hard. The primary challenge employees face with development is turning new knowledge and skills into successful habits during the speed and complexity of their busy workday. The 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐲𝐜𝐥𝐞 provides a proven roadmap for accelerating learning and the development of desired new behaviors. 𝟭) 𝗠𝗘𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗙𝗨𝗟 𝗚𝗢𝗔𝗟 Setting a meaningful growth goal provides the benefits of clarity, focus, motivation, and accountability. A goal acts as a magnet for maximizing your effort to achieve an intended behavior change.   𝟮) 𝗣𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗖𝗘 As adults, most of our most important lessons were not acquired through participating in a training program; our most impactful lessons, growth, and learning come to us through experience. This is why you must be willing to practice integrating new knowledge, skills, and behaviors if you want to continuously evolve and learn.   𝟯) 𝗙𝗘𝗘𝗗𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗞 Receiving honest feedback helps you address blind spots and evolve your behaviors in pursuit of achieving your desired goal. For you to truly receive honest feedback, they must be deliberate about creating a safe environment by actively giving permission and expressing openness and desire to receive feedback.   𝟰) 𝗥𝗘𝗙𝗟𝗘𝗖𝗧 Research shows that a regular practice of reflection increases your capacity to demonstrate emotional intelligence, social skills, and learning agility. Rolfe et al.’s (2001) reflective model is one of the simplest reflective models because it centers around asking these three simple questions:   WHAT? • What was the opportunity or challenge? • What happened? • What did I notice (five senses)?   SO WHAT? • So what worked or did not? • So what was confirmed? • So what do I still not know?   NOW WHAT? • Now what actions will I do differently or the same next time? • Now what is the best way for me to move forward from this experience? • Now what are my goals moving forward?   The 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐲𝐜𝐥𝐞 provides a roadmap for how we can continually adapt, grow, and evolve. Do you agree? Share your COMMENTS below. ⬇️ 𝗛𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 🔔 𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗜 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁 | Tony Gambill Subscribe to my ↗️ 𝐂𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐕𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 ↗️, LinkedIn newsletter to join 28,884 others who receive biweekly practical tips for Self-Leadership and Leading Others: https://lnkd.in/dYRwgY96    #leadership #management #careers #humanresources

Never underestimate the power of "small" gestures. Struggling to set goals that truly matter? Wondering how to stay on track to achieve them? Then keep in mind, Setting goals is easy, but sticking to them is the real challenge. It's not just about listing aspirations; it's about creating a roadmap to turn dreams into reality. Let's examine these insightful strategies that will assist you in reaching your aspirations: Clarify Your Vision: Reflect on what drives you. - From "get healthier" to "shed 15 lbs by year-end". Set SMART Goals: Make them Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. - For example, if you aspire to improve your fitness, a SMART goal could be "Lose 10 pounds in the next 3 months." Break Down into Milestones: Divide larger goals into smaller, achievable steps. (Mini Steps) Track Your Progress: As Peter Drucker said, "What gets measured gets managed." - Keep a record of your journey to stay motivated and make adjustments. Stay Persistent: - Embrace challenges and setbacks as learning opportunities. Visualize Success: - Imagine achieving your goal to enhance focus and determination. Accountability Partner: - Share your goals with someone who can encourage and hold you accountable. Manage Time Wisely: - As Benjamin Franklin said, "You may delay, but time will not." Allocate time for tasks that align with your goals. These strategies will lead to: - Fulfillment as you work towards your passions - A sense of accomplishment with each milestone - Improved self-discipline and time management skills In the realm of education, teaching students the art of meaningful goal-setting equips them with vital life skills. By integrating these techniques into curricula, educators empower students to transform aspirations into tangible achievements. Thanks, Jasmin Alić, for motivating me with your content and showing me that consistency and goal-setting are important. Share your favorite goal-setting strategy and how it's transformed your journey! Let's inspire each other to reach new heights.