Have you set your annual goals yet? If not, good! Because today we want to share with you a better – and more realistic – approach to achieving things in the year ahead. We’re sharing 3 keys ideas today:

• Ditch annual goals for quarterly sprints
• Professional commitments that set you up for success
• A January development trend you’ll want to avoid

Ditch Annual Goals for Quarterly Sprints

Have you ever written New Year goals and gotten to the end of the year and realised that you were a long way off achieving them because you didn’t stay focused on them for one reason or another?

If so, you’re one of many who have been taught to do goals this way but in our experience – it’s not realistic. The trouble with annual goals is they don’t take into account that most of the time we are focused on what’s right in front of us now, not what we want to achieve 12 months down the track. Plus, our attention span is short and we can get bored.

So break down your big goals into quarterly ones and focus on just ONE goal for 3 months that will keep you moving toward that big, annual performance goal.

AND, our other goal success hack is to choose goals that are challenging, not easy. If you want to fast-track your performance growth, quarterly goals that push you out of your comfort zone will enhance your professional skills in a flash.

Professional ‘Commitments’ that Set You Up for Success

Rather than New Year Resolutions that fall to the wayside by the end of January we are big advocates for ‘professional commitments’ that are essentially habits that support you to become a better leader as the year goes on.

For instance, you could commit to:

• Action, not procrastination. Procrastination is a momentum killer and it adds unnecessary stress and pressure that you could avoid by taking action.
• Seeking frequent feedback. Not all feedback is negative and whatever form it takes, it’s still the fastest way to get better at your job.

For more inspiration, here’s what some of our Tactician team are committing to this year:

Lynn Hord: Getting comfortable with being uncomfortable.
Luke Johnson: Focusing on something ‘new’ each month to test ideas.
Jen Lord: Being kind to myself.
Julie Cockerill: Consistency in my daily rhythms.
Nicole Jones: Consistency and routine.
Ian Till: Proactiveness in client communication.

A January Trend You’ll Want to Avoid

We see it every year – people wait till everyone is back before they set clear learning and development plans for the year ahead. But don’t do it!

You’ll have six different department heads coming to you saying, I want to do this, I’m thinking about that, and we need this support. This ad hoc environment can be overwhelming and in the end you’re too busy reacting to be proactive.

The easy answer is to do your development planning the year before! But we know that’s not always the case. So if you’re already in the thick of it, then bring in someone who can help you assess priorities (pick us!), get a plan sorted, book dates and get your training delivery underway quickly with our outsourced L&D packages.