How to master your career goals, not let goals be your master

Why goals?

Before you start a new project, task or quest for personal achievement, ask yourself the fundamental question. Why am I doing this? Why am I going to extraordinary lengths to create, build, achieve and excel?

In any discussion about goals, I find it’s useful to first understand why goals are so important to us and where this drive comes from. Then we can truly get to grips with how we can work with goals. Or rather, as I like to say, make them work for us. So they lead us to success, recognition or enjoyment, and give us higher emotional rewards.

Our need for goals is in our nature

When humans first roamed the earth, survival wired us to seek rewards and avoid danger. It follows that we survived, thrived and evolved by seeking goals that gave us positive outcomes: a new plan for finding berries or capturing a mammoth.

Then beyond the practical, in human psychology, goals also function to answer some of our deepest-seated needs, such as our search for purpose and meaning in life.

Conundrums in setting goals

Fast forward to present day and I must be honest with you, reaching our workplace goals isn’t always easy, or as black and white as locating berries.

Let’s take an example of a key goal conundrum. You want to be a leading AI expert. However, you have no previous experience in AI, or anything remotely digital, and are a technophobe to boot. But you set yourself the goal of becoming the keynote speaker at an AI thought leadership event. How realistic is your goal? How disappointed will you be if you don’t achieve it? How long will you spend aiming for your goal? Will you allow it to dominate your life?

Then, the flipside. You’re the head of AI at your organisation. You have a great reputation. You’re 99% sure you’ll be chosen as keynote at the next AI thought leadership event. You set yourself the goal of being chosen. You are chosen. How satisfied will you be? How much of an achievement is it?

Case in point. Setting the right goals is difficult. Too hard, and they are unrealistic. Too easy, and you’ll be left questioning if they are worthwhile.

So, in setting goals in the workplace, we need to think not just of the relevance of the goal to your role (if it’s not relevant then what’s the point?), but also whether it has the right degree of stretch. Too easy, and it’s of limited value, too hard, and it’s a bridge too far.

The sweet spot is where relevance, difficulty and achievability are all aligned. This requires careful thought.

Interestingly, research also shows that setting tough goals gets better results, especially if they are specific, as opposed to vague. And that the buzz from hitting a tough target is far greater than an easy one.

But do we need goals at all? Are they bad for us?

There is a growing school of thought that our traditional thinking around goals may, ironically, be keeping us from success.

The idea is that goals create rigidity in our thinking, become emotionally restrictive, and can also set ourselves up for disappointment. The evidence suggests that goals?can stifle creativity, make you more likely to be less honest with yourself, and bizarrely,?less?likely to succeed.

The other potentially negative aspect of seeking goals is that it means we become too focused on the outcome, as opposed to the journey or process in getting there.

This can create a hamster-wheel mentality and pose a threat to our mental wellbeing.

So how do we best approach our goals? It’s all in the mindset

From my experience with goal setting, although seemingly paradoxical, they can only work for us if you apply the right mindset, where you are always in the driving seat, rather than being at their mercy.

It’s about carving out time to focus on your goals – goal setting shouldn’t be rushed. With the 5% Pledge we encourage leaders and employees to commit 5% of their annual working hours to improving mental health in the workplace and one way to spend 5% of your time is to dedicate some of it to focus on goals and development.

So take the time to think seriously about what your goals are, and handle them carefully with this right mindset, you can navigate the complexities and use them as a great basis to build your career.

Here are five things to think about when you or your staff are setting constructive goals that serve them.

1.??? Think specific, not speed

As discussed, research shows that easy career goals can limit us, and that we’re more likely to achieve goals that initially feel impossible. So being more specific, and ambitious with your career goals could set you up for success.

For example, rather than setting yourself a general goal to get better at giving presentations, you could set yourself the goal of giving a keynote speech at a big conference in 2024, and plot out how you plan to get there. That way, you can focus on creating behaviour change and learning opportunities, rather than trying to find the quickest route to achieving your goal.

2.??? Use goals as a compass

Goals are great at putting you on a path, in terms of the skills and behaviours you need to learn, but you need to stay adaptable. I find one of the most helpful mantras to understand this is Ordonez’s concept of “use goals as a compass, not as a GPS”.

We know goals can be tied to reaching a deep sense of psychological wellbeing and purpose when achieved but if we get too closely emotionally attached, we could experience deep disappointment and a sense of failure if we don’t reach that exact goal.

Goals should not relentlessly drive us. Like a compass they should guide us in a general direction, then if our circumstances or priorities change, we can tweak them, while still being on track for something we want.

Your goals don’t control you. If you need to adjust them, do it.

3.??? Enjoy the journey

In my experience of personal appraisals, I am constantly reminded that employees are often focused on the outcome, for example, a promotion. And then at the next appraisal, it’s the next promotion.

Indeed, when focusing on outcomes, it often means they are?less?likely to be met. It becomes a burden, not a chance for exciting growth.

My advice is that whilst having the goal is fine – the real focus should be on the journey. It’s the journey that brings the real joy, the valuable life experiences, and the learning. So ‘let it flow’, and the promotions, the goal smashing, will come.

4.??? Look at the bigger picture

People need to be able to identify how their goals fit into the wider organisational strategy and plan.

As a staff member, you should ask for help from your employer with identifying, developing and working towards goals that align with the organisation’s. But, unfortunately, I am often struck by how this topic falls low on the priority list for managers and HR teams.

As an employer, it’s crucial you invest in showing how individual contributions help the organisation as a whole, so that employees can set their sights on goals that help them and the company grow.

Goals should all be about win-win; the more this agenda is public and transparent within organisations, the more likely the company and its staff will grow and be successful.

The future of goal setting is yours

When it comes to your goals, apply the right mindset. Never lose sight of being the master of your goals, or they won’t work for you, your career or your organisation.

Take the time to think specifically about where you want to be, what that journey looks like and how your goals fit into the bigger picture of your workplace. Then as you aim high for them, use your goals as a guide, but remember you can and should adapt them as you go.

So, what are your goals?