Your guide for S-M-A-R-T and Meaningful goals for 2022

As we are begin 2022, it is the right time to setup mindful goals that excite you for this year. Didn’t make any resolutions? It’s not too late! There’s still 11 months left to set and meet some big goals (both personal and professional) for this year.

Not sure where to start? here is my personal guidance on setting goals and enabling conversations about them with your mentors and people you manage :?Lets start with S.M.A.R.T. ?for Specific, Measurable, Assignable, Realistic, and Time-Related.

S IS FOR SPECIFIC

Think about any task you set out to complete—it’s always easier to get it done if you have good, clear instructions. Choosing definite areas for your goals makes it easier for you to get to work on them and measure your progress - whether it is Professional certifications you want to achieve (or) capabilities you want to build for this year

M IS FOR MEASURABLE

Setting goals that are measurable is essential to achieving them—otherwise, you have no way of determining whether your goals have been met. If?you?can't?measure it,?you?can't achieve?it.

A IS FOR ASSIGNABLE (or) ACTIONABLE

This one might not make sense for you at first glance—but as leaders we always wear multiple hats - to build capability, grow team, support clients, investment areas. Assigning goals to yourself or manage with a Team/person is something to track. If you have too many goals in one area of your business, it might be the time to consider balancing with other goals or outsourcing some work. Which conveniently brings us to our next point…

R IS FOR REALISTIC

We all are dreamers and risk-takers—as leaders, you have to be! But when setting smart goals for yourself, it’s important that most are things you could realistically achieve. Consider the resources you’re working with—time, skills, finances, outsourcing, and what you’ve managed to achieve in similar periods in the past—and set your goals accordingly.

T IS FOR TIME-RELATED

We all know we start big with the enthusiasm when we set new goals, but it can be difficult to maintain that momentum if we don’t have deadlines. Remember the last minute rush to submit your college essay in the last 5 mins; nerve racking but always get it done

For the next suggestion, I was inspired by (“Small Ways to Find Meaning In Your Work ”) and thought it was a great reminder on creating goals around meaningful work for this year; especially with COVID and distance continuing to challenge us personally and professionally, intentionality can go a long way in supporting what this means for each of us uniquely.

1. Build meaningful relationships : Whether with clients or with my people I plan to connect with them on a personal level. Sharing personal stories and being vulnerable is going to be an area that I am going to focus into every conversation
2. Prioritize work-life integration?: Forget Work-life balance, my favorite quote from the article is to "ensure my work supports my life, and not having my life support my work".
3. Embrace mentorship : One of my career altering moments was when I started reaching out to Senior Execs to be mentors - and to my surprise and gratitude they responded in kind. Now, I am on the other side providing mentorship and trying to pay it forward
4. Identify your “why” : There can be multiple "Whys" at Work, my Why is "Connecting Transformational work to talented individuals/teams" and at Life it is "Being present and enjoying time"
5. Be open to learning : With youtube and almost all information available online, the barrier to learn is very low - but the question is what should you focus your energies upon? For me I always focus on the questions from my clients - ex : How can we enable Sales Team with the right data at the right time, (or) how can my delivery Team deliver faster and better.
6. Think about the impact you’re making : Impact is always more than the sum total of you and your team. One of my success stories from the last 2 years, based on a recent delivery, I formalized a delivery methodology for Salesforce engagements involving multiple areas of capability (Strategy, Change Mgmt, Technology, Design and Process). This methodology provided us the base to win major transformation work. So as I move forward, I am always looking for templates, success stories and methodologies that can be packaged and leveraged else where.
7. Appreciate the joyful moments : Mindfulness is really essential in this era of the pandemic. With all the loss around us, Gratitude journaling has been one of my saviour.
8. Give back outside of work : For the last few years, I have been committing to the 1% pledge - provide 1% of your salary and 1% of your time for an activity. This year, planning for some online support during MLK day.
9. Lean into empathy : One of the major challenges with the pandemic is that many of us end up masking their pain and bringing a different self into work. As leaders and managers we need to create a safe space for people to express their vulnerable self and be nourished.