How to Craft Resilient and Inspiring Goals for 2024

The end of the year usually comes with a To-Do List that’s longer than the waitlist for Taylor Swift tickets. Get the gifts. Clean the house. Organize the gatherings. Check in with the people we didn’t see all year. The unstoppable passage of the year provides us with a huge heap of stuff we need to figure out as the year-end bears down on us. 

Oh, but wait…then there’s work…we need figure out our goals for next year! 

Often, we’re exhausted from a challenging and fulsome year of work. It can be tough to get into the headspace and muster the energy to get this future-focused work done. But at the same time, it doesn’t feel good to turn over the calendar and not know our direction and trajectory for the coming year. There are lots of roadblocks on the route towards building our goals. And maybe you have some system or tool within your organization that’s sending you reminders that you need to get your goals into “the system” before you check out for 2023. 

So, let’s do this together. Let’s build better goals for the coming year! 

BUT FIRST – SHORE UP YOUR HABITS

Before we launch headfirst into our goals and objectives, we need to focus on the elemental piece that ultimately determines whether we achieve our goals or not; our habits. This is probably the tenth blog we’ve written in the past few years that includes this dagger quote from James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, but we keep coming back to it because it’s poignant and powerful.  

“You do not rise to the level of your goals; you fall to the level of your systems.” 

Before we bring paper and pen together to architect our goals, let’s look under the hood at those baseline systems that underpin our work: 

What work habits have served me well this past year? 

What bad habits at work do I need to drop this coming year?  

What’s one new habit I can stack upon my existing good habits? 

Those habits can be varied and many, but they usually connect to the rhythm of your workday/week and are present at those times when you feel like you are crushing it. It might be how you start each day with setting your intention. It might be how you end each day with a reflection on what you achieved that day. It might be how you take those micro-breaks each day to refresh and re-centre. Whatever they are for you, write them down, add to them, and get rid of the trashy ones that are bringing you down. 

UNVEILING THE ME/WE/BIZ FRAMEWORK

This model was shared with me by my first leadership coach, the amazing and generous Gary Selick.  Over the years as I’ve put it into the field of play, I’ve taken a few creative liberties with Gary’s thinking, but the intent and idea remain intact. Along with so many things from my coaching experience with Gary, it stuck to me like superglue and left such a positive imprint on me. And it’s got a catchy name which makes it infinitely memorable and sharable. So, for the purpose of this blog, I call it the Framework for Great Goals. For every goal, we need to consider the three corners of the triangle, with the Great Goal sitting smack dab in the middle. 

Me – Let’s start with the corner that we often overlook. If we aren’t personally motivated and driven to achieve a goal, then we won’t bring our best to it. It will be a slog and will never feel like fulfilling work. But if we can connect it to our own development, sense of achievement, or other intrinsic motivation, then we’re going to bring our better self to the challenge. 

We – When we say “we” in this context, we’re talking about our team. When we consider a goal, we want it to connect with our team’s mandate. It sits right in the sweet spot of “why we exist” and “what we want to achieve”. What can make it even sweeter is if it connects to the development and growth of the team we lead; it provides a stretch opportunity, expands the capability and capacity of the group, and provides the platform for buy-in as you get after the goal. 

Biz – Any goal needs to serve our organization and what matters most to it. If not, then it can be labeled “pet project” or “nice to have” which will make it slippery and jeopardize its chances of success. And then at the end of the year when you celebrate the achievement of the goal, you can directly tie it to a business outcome or change that really matters. 

For each of the three corners of a Great Goal, we answer these three questions: 

Why does this goal matter?  

What great change would come from achieving this goal? What would be the value and impact? 

At the end of the year, how will you know if you achieved the goal? Where will you be? What will be different? 

THE UNBREAKABLE TRIANGLE OF A GREAT GOAL

This is where the magic happens. If we can come up with compelling and cohesive answers to all three questions for Me/We/Biz, then we are locked in. Nothing escapes the triangle. It remains rigourous, complete, and resilient. But if one corner of the triangle breaks, then the entire goal spills out and it’s doomed.  For example, shifting priorities and changes in your biz might make your goal a lower priority or not relevant anymore. If we don’t recognize that shift, then the goal is no longer valid, and we have to revise the goal or bring forward a fresh one.  

Building our goals provides motivation, direction and a path to self-actualization. When we are guided by clear and achievable goals, we find the flow and focus that we need, especially as we start a new year. And when we connect those goals to the three corners of the triangle, we are creating the conditions that show the way to making an impact.