The Impact of Goals and Plans
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In my twenties I had a friend that was always ahead of the curve in terms of gadgets and tech. She was the person that introduced me to USB Thumb Drives back in the day when they could only store 8 to 16MB. She was also a person with a plan. “When I finish my degree I’ll get a job with a big consulting firm. Then in three years I’ll get promoted. Then in two years I’ll meet my future husband. Then one year later we’ll have our first child. Then…” To me it sounded insane — so many plans, and so many goals, reaching so far into the future. I had no idea what I wanted to do. No, that is not entirely true. I had just started practising martial arts, so I wanted to stay in London to continue practising. As far as the rest, I was happy to go with the flow. After we graduated my friend got a job with one of the big four consulting firms, and since then she has had an incredible career. I stayed at UCL to do a PhD, and importantly I remained close to my university dojo. At the time the idea of creating long term plans felt limiting — by not committing I thought I left my options open. But now that I’m a bit older it is becoming increasingly clear to me that the goals that I set, and the plans that I make, have a massive impact on where I end up. One particular thing I have found is that when I set a long term goal I start noticing opportunities related to my goal. Often these opportunities are small and insignificant in themselves, but over time they accumulate, nudging me towards my goal. I’ve also realised that if I don’t like a particular goal that I’ve set, then I am free to change it. There is nothing binding associated with setting a personal goal. However, in the workplace things are a bit different. In the workplace plans and goals usually cascade down from executives and leaders — and people have to make their own goals and plans within that context. This results in interesting dynamics and challenges with regards to giving people autonomy and agency to stay motivated, whilst ensuring that everyone pulls in the same direction. I’ve written a couple of posts about this recently that can help leaders navigate this space. Stay awesome! 😃 Best wishes, Tjelvar PS. I had an amazing time in my twenties — and I got really good at martial arts — but it is not an achievement that I put on my CV. 😅 |