The Real Reason Your 2025 Leadership 🎯 Goals Might Fail—And How to Fix Them

Are you ready to set your 2025 goals? What's on your list?

• Get caught up on performance reviews, finally!
• Get through accreditation while keeping your sanity!
• Fill the vacancies that are always causing program issues.
• Finish the proposal so you can hopefully start that new program.

Those are all important things to focus on. But will they change how you feel about yourself and your leadership?

• Will those "goals" change how your team sees you, how well they work together, or positively impact your team culture?
• Will those goals help prevent burnout, teach you how to deal with staff members who drive you nuts, or stop the drag of negativity on your team?

The simple answer is no

To do all of that, you need a different kind of goal!

Here is the real reason your 2025 leadership GOALS might fail and how to fix them

Why Leadership Development Goals Matter for Women Leaders

If your leadership goals are only about external outcomes, you're likely setting yourself up for disappointment. To get real results, you need to evolve as a leader, grow, and shift from the inside out.

Your leadership won't evolve unless you focus on growing yourself

And the secret to success? Setting intentional, deeply personal leadership goals that target your own development—not just what your organization needs.

Let me explain why this is so important and how you can start setting goals that actually stick this time.

The Mistakes Nonprofit Leaders Make With Goal Setting

Many leaders focus their energy on metrics: hitting deadlines, growing budgets, or increasing impact. While those are valuable benchmarks, they often come at the expense of personal growth.

I learned this the hard way 😳

Years ago, after landing a substantial contract, I was laser-focused on meeting funder requirements, submitting reports, and keeping everything on track. From those outside of our team, I looked like a capable leader. But inside, our team was falling apart. I was neglecting them, demanding too much, and lacking consistency in my actions. It was all go-go-go, and I left my people behind in the process.

Then, a staff member filed a grievance against me, and I was blindsided 😩

That moment made me realize I wasn't leading with integrity—I was so caught up in the numbers that I lost sight of my own development.

With the help of a coach, I discovered that leadership isn't just about what you do for others; it's about who you are and how you show up every day. That's when I started setting intentional leadership goals that focused on growing me.

The Framework for Setting Personal Leadership Goals in 2025

To make 2025 the year you transform your leadership, you need goals that are more than just lofty ideas. Here's a simple framework:

🎯 The TARGET: What's the end result you want?

Example: I want to feel more confident in my leadership role.

🛣️ The PATHWAY: What steps will help you get there?

Example: Join Toastmasters to practice public speaking, listen to leadership podcasts, and complete a values assessment.

🪥 The HABITS: What daily or weekly actions will keep you on track?

Example: Spend 10 minutes each morning journaling about my wins and growth areas.

💭 The MINDSET: What belief systems need to shift?

Example: When I feel like I don't have time, I'll remind myself that growth happens in small moments of consistency.

📐 The MEASUREMENT: How will you know you've succeeded?

Example: Deliver three speeches at Toastmasters and gain positive feedback from my team.

Examples of Leadership Goals

for Women in Nonprofit Leadership

These examples also come from my upcoming book Character Driven Leadership for Women - A 5-Step Guide to Shape Your Nonprofit Management Style with Strong Values, Ethics, and Morals.

Each example highlights how leadership-specific goals can transform your habits, mindset, and results.

🎯 Target: I engage in difficult conversations instead of avoiding them.

• Pathway: Read Brené Brown's Daring Greatly and journal about lessons learned.
• Habit: Practice approaching one challenging conversation each week.
• Mindset: Remind yourself, "Bravery means taking action even when I'm uncomfortable."
• Measurement: I record and review the outcomes of five challenging conversations to evaluate my progress and confidence.

🎯 Target: I grow my leadership capacity.

• Pathway: Read one leadership book per quarter.
• Habit: Spend 10 minutes reading each morning before work.
• Mindset: Remember that growth happens in micro-moments, even when life feels busy.
• Measurement: By year-end, I have read four leadership books and applied at least one actionable strategy from each.

🎯Target: I show up more authentically as a leader.

• Pathway: Complete a VIA Character Strengths profile and journal weekly about how you align with your core values.
• Habit: Reflect each day on where you felt most aligned or out of alignment with your values.
• Mindset: Remind yourself, "Authenticity isn't about perfection; it's about alignment."
• Measurement: My self-assessment and team feedback indicate a stronger alignment with my values and leadership approach by mid-year.

Why You Can't Just Copy Leadership Goals From Others

Here's the thing: you can't just copy these goals and expect them to work. The process of setting meaningful leadership goals requires time, reflection, and self-awareness.

For example, you and I might both struggle with difficult conversations, but we'll approach them differently.

• You might prefer to learn through podcasts or mentoring
• I might benefit from reading books or journaling.

Even our reasons for struggling might differ:

• You might avoid saying no because you're a people pleaser.
• I might struggle because I'm an overachiever.

Those differences mean our pathways, habits, and mindset shifts will look completely different—and that's okay!

To create goals that stick, you need to take the time to uncover your own challenges, values, and strengths. It's not about doing what works for someone else; it's about finding what works for you.

How Personal Leadership Development Will Transform Your 2025

If you want 2025 to be different, it's time to stop setting goals for everyone else and start focusing on yourself. When you commit to growing your leadership from the inside out, you'll show up more confident, composed, and effective—not just for your team but for yourself.

Ready to Set Goals That Stick?

If you're ready to create intentional leadership goals for 2025 and want the tools to do it right, join my course, The Nonprofit Leadership Blueprint.

This course will guide you through creating a personalized plan to grow your leadership with clarity, confidence, and purpose. Don't let another year pass by without taking action on you.

The 2025 Nonprofit Leadership Blueprint course is designed specifically for leaders like you who are ready to move from surviving to thriving by creating your own learning and growth plan for 2025.

In this three-session course, you’ll:

• Reflect on your wins from 2024 and uncover what’s next.
• Set meaningful, achievable leadership goals.
• Build a personalized growth plan to reach those goals and create sustainable habits for ongoing success.

The details:

• Dates: January 8, 15, and 22, 2025
• Time: 1:00–3:00 PM MT
• Location: Zoom (live sessions with follow-up materials provided)
• Investment: $147 CAD

You'll find more information here