Personal development goals are different from company goals as they focus on the development of your own skills. Such goals cover areas like emotional intelligence and self-management.
As a business owner or a senior member of any team you will regularly set Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) in order to measure the progress of your business towards business goals. As you will be aware, your team (at every level) ought to be made aware of the OKRs so that they are able to appreciate how their own duties connect with those goals. Similarly, the individual goals of your direct team reports, in terms of personal development, should align with your business’s OKRs. And the same goes for you too – the ‘keeper of the dream’. This is where life coaching comes into its own
Personal development goals aim to benefit you by improving your ways of thinking therefore your company will benefit in turn. Getting it right when you come to set personal development goals means ensuring that they are valuable and relevant. It’s also essential for you to get 360-degree feedback from your direct reports to know and understand yourself personally and that you are as committed as you are to the end game. You may also uncover any incongruities that you weren’t previously aware of.
Setting Relevant and Valuable Personal Development Goals
A good method for setting personal development goals that will align with business goals is to answer questions based on the S.M.A.R.T system of analysis. This stands for: Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Responsible and Time-Bound
Here are the 5 Questions:
- What is it exactly that you want to do? (Specific) The answer to this question is the goal itself.
- How will you know when you have reached or achieved the goal? (Measurable). Set out what measurement or outcome is associated with the completion of the goal.
- What individual steps are necessary to achieving the goal? (Actionable) Each and every goal should consist of smaller steps. When we are dealing with OKRs, these would be the key results associated with each objective.
- Who do you need resources and support from? (Responsible) An individual goal doesn’t necessarily need to belong 100% to you, the ‘keeper of the dream’. Others can offer support and be responsible for certain key results when you are on the path to achieving goals.
- At what point will the goal be completed? (Time-bound). A schedule is important, although timelines should always be adjustable.
The acronym S.M.A.R.T. has been around for a good deal of time. George T. Doran first mentioned it in a 1981 issue of Management Review. People make additions to it. Here we can add the letter ‘A’ to stand for ‘alignment’.
Direct alignment
If your company wants to improve, let us say, customer satisfaction scores, an objective might be to conduct company-wide training on ‘Managing Difficult Customers’. A work goal aligned to the OKR would probably be to ‘Design a Customer Service Programme and Policy’. A Personal Development goal in relation to these that would directly align with them would be to ‘Focus on Improving my Presentation Skills’. And if this is broken down, achieving this personal development goal will involve the improvement of emotional intelligence, time management and self-management.
Remember: It is very difficult to accomplish goals if you don’t monitor your progress and get 360-degree feedback from the team around you. This is where life coaching for business owners can really help a great deal.
Engaging the services of Claire Buck – Life Coach for Business Owners will help you in the following areas:
BECOME MORE SELF AWARE
A life coach can give you the tools you need to explore your inner self and work out who you really are. Being more self-aware empowers you to build better relationships, identify what matters to you and understand your values. By re-evaluating yourself you can create a more fulfilling life.
INCREASE YOUR CONFIDENCE
Empower yourself to leave your comfort zone. Lack of confidence can be a huge factor in our unhappiness. By increasing your confidence you will be better equipped to make decisions, stretch yourself and seek out the opportunities to achieve your goals.
IDENTIFY MANAGEABLE STEPS
Sometimes a goal can seem so big that you can’t see how you will ever achieve it. A life coach can help you break it down and identify the smaller steps you need to take in order to get there. What can you do today that will bring you closer to your goal tomorrow? Let your life coach help you overcome the hurdles between you and the finish line.
ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS FASTER
Perhaps you are making progress in achieving what you want in life but are frustrated about how much time it is taking? A life coach can help you maximise your time and focus on what is needed to get to your destination quicker. Contact Claire.
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