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Setting Goals This Season - Dec 6, 2023 Newsletter

Setting Goals This Season - Dec 6, 2023 Newsletter

Get ahead of the New Year with some easy goals to follow!

December 06, 2023

Hey, goal-setters! 🎯

Let’s talk about goals. And setting them. And how they keep us motivated and provide us with direction in our careers. Because, let’s face it: everyone needs a little direction sometimes.

⚡ PLUS: Take a peek at the test that will help you figure out if your career matches your goals.

SMART goals can be kind of stupid 🥴

You’ve heard of SMART goals before. That’s when the targets you set for yourself are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-Bound. For a while, this has been seen as the ultimate way of defining goals. However, many people will tell you otherwise.

Take Shanna A Hocking, for example, who is a leadership consultant with 20 years’ experience. She points out that a significant flaw with SMART goals is that they tend to overfocus on the outcome and not on the journey, which can lead to a loss of motivation and engagement.

Instead, she suggests employers set stretch goals, ones that pose a real challenge to their team members. 💪

A survey by Leadership IQ supports this sentiment. Some 4,000 employees were asked to what degree they agreed with this statement: “My goals for this year will help me achieve great things.” Half the respondents replied either unfavorably or neutrally.

The survey also showed that people who set HARD goals (Heartfelt, Animated, Required and Difficult) over SMART ones were likelier to report thriving in their jobs. 🌟

Whether you’re a professional working on your career advancement or a manager leading a team, therefore, you may want to scrap SMART goals altogether.

More on how SMART goals are no-nos →

Match your goals to your talent

Are your professional goals aligned with your interests, motivations, personality and strengths — and your career? The six-part CareerHunter test will help you make sure you’re in the right line of work.

Valid until 12/31. Discount already applied.

Celebrate the little things. 👏 You should be the first person to give you a metaphorical pat on the back for a job well done! Don’t forget to do this.

To Do

New Year’s Resolutions to inspire you →

5 goals you should set for 2024 🎯

As famous self-help book author Tony Robbins says, “setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.”

No matter your seniority or what industry you work in, entering 2024 with a set of specific goals is going to keep you motivated and allow you to accomplish bigger, better things in the near future.

To help you put this into motion, we’ve come up with 5 unique goals you can simultaneously work towards to ensure that, at the end of 2024, you’re more fulfilled in your job and have gained confidence as a professional. 💪

Expand your skill set. Whether it’s learning how to use an industry-specific tool or enhancing a soft skill like communication, identify one ability you’d like to strengthen or acquire.
Establish a personal brand. If you haven’t already, invest time completing your LinkedIn profile, creating an online portfolio and/or printing your very own business cards.
Grow your professional network. Some statistics claim that up to 80 % of all job openings are filled through networking. Even if in reality it’s lower, networking is still one of the most foolproof ways to advance your career. 🌐
Take on an additional responsibility. It can be something simple, like becoming the designated writer for meeting minutes — or something big, like requesting to be involved in a different project.
Ask for a raise or a promotion. Some time in the next few months, once you’ve worked on your people skills, nourished your connections and learned more things, you can ask for more in return. You’ll certainly have plenty to back it up with!