Unlock Your Potential: Goal Setting Explained

Before we jump into how to set your goals, it’s important to understand why we have them. Goals can help give us direction and purpose, shape our decisions and choices and ultimately set steps to achieve your dreams. 

There are many types of goals, financial, social, health and wellbeing, but in the context of this article we will be discussing professional goals.

The process of setting goals can be intimating if you haven’t done it before, but it’s like any skill, once you learn the steps, after a little practice its easy. And actually, really motivating.

We want to help breakdown goal setting into steps and provide some helpful tips along the way, plus at the end there’s also an easy-to-use template to download. Lets get started!

Types of Goals

Goals can be varied in duration, and it can be helpful to define some general timeframes.

• Short Term Goals: typically focused on weeks and months, but within a year.

• Medium Term Goals: 1- 3 years.

• Long Term Goals: 3+ years.

How to set Goals

Here’s where we really get going!

Step 1: Establish your long term goal

We are going to work in reverse. First up, you will set your long term goal. We are starting with your long term goal because this will set the direction of the rest of our goal setting, think of it like a pyramid, this is at the top! What are you aiming to achieve.

Step 2: Brainstorm

This is your chance to think big. Write a list. Start this process with a glass half full attitude. If you aim big who knows what can happen, try it! Squash any self-doubt at this step.

It can also be helpful to envisage the future. Think about what you want your life to look like in 3-5 years? Or what type of role and/or organisation are you looking for?

Once you have some pen to paper (it can be rough), reflect and think about why some of these things are on your list. This will help determine which one(s) are right – and what motivates you. Ideally you want to get this down to one goal.

Step 3: Make your goals SMART

The SMART framework was proposed back in 1981 by George T Doran as a guide to setting meaningful, valuable goals.  His method advocates for setting objectives that are Specific, Measurable, Assignable, Realistic, and Time-bound.

Specific – what exactly are you trying to achieve?  Consider the W’s: What, When, Who, Where, Why? For example

• Who: needs to be involved?

• What: are you trying to achieve?

• When: do you want to complete it by?

Measurable – make sure you can measure your goals. How will you know when you have achieved it?

Achievable– is it realistic? Ambitious is great, but it needs to be genuinely achievable. 

Relevant – does it contribute to what you want to achieve for your long terms goal.

Timebound – have you set a timeframe?  

Take your goal from step two and check it against the SMART framework. Make any edits to ensure it ticks all the boxes – and use this formula going forward.

For example this hits the mark: My goal is to be the Head of Marketing at a national fundraising organisation within 5 years.

It clearly articulates what role this person is looking for (Head of Marketing) in a specific timeframe (5 years) in a specific area they are looking for (national fundraising organisation).

Step 4: Your Action Plan

Once you have your long-term goal, you need a plan of attack how will you get from where you are now to where you want to be. Short and medium goals will set the path. Focus on what you want to achieve in the next 1-3 years. This could include:

• Skills

• Experience

• Education

A helpful tip is to jump on career websites such as Seek.com.au and look at job ads similar to your dream role. Look at what skills and experience they are focused on, and what areas you might need to prioritize to feel you’re ready to take it on.

For example:

You might consider people management if you are looking to take on a leadership role. If you don’t currently directly manage people, how can you get exposure to the skills this involves? In the short term, you could consider things like taking on managing an intern or work experience student which acts as a good platform to learn; or you could look at managing a project to build your experience managing others in an indirect way. In the medium term, you set your sights on a promotion where you are managing at least one person. Even if these opportunities aren’t currently available, flag them. It's amazing how much can change or how much managers can change things for high performers (you!).

Another example might be to finesse a skill; communications skills, or stakeholder engagement, negotiation, managing conflict. Whatever you feel your current gaps are this step is important to identify it and build a plan to change it.

You can read books, do courses, seek opportunities to learn from others at your current workplace in more senior roles.

Tips

Support people are key

Your Manager

Lean on your manager (if you have one). A major part of any manager's job is to help support your development. So, draft this up and ask them to go through it with you. They (hopefully) know you well, so will be able to provide good, insightful feedback, and also discuss how they can support you.

Mentors

Mentors can provide another excellent support in your career building journey. Sometimes mentors will be former managers, or someone you look up to and trust. Mentors can be helpful as someone outside of your workplace, who you can confide in, slightly more than your manager given they are detached from your workplace. If you don’t currently have one, think about who you know (or admire) within your networks. Don’t be afraid to reach out, it doesn’t need to be formal if you don’t want it to be, it can be a coffee catch up where you just ask for some advice.

Accountability

Remember your goals are your responsibility. No one else owes this to you; not your boss, workplace or your colleagues. You need to drive it. Don't be afraid to be ambitious and try.

Celebrations are in order!

Celebrate the wins along the way! That’s right don’t wait until the end to celebrate. Reward yourself throughout the process. Enjoy achieving the short and medium goals. Share them with friends and family, buy yourself a little something special, pop open a bottle of champagne or put a little something up on your LinkedIn page. The journey is half the fun, so make it that way!

Don’t forget to monitor and review

Try to review this regularly throughout the year. Book in 4 times in your diary right now to review this across the year. That way you can come back to it to see how you're progressing.

Download the Goal Setting Template here.