Achieving your Leadership Goals in 2014

In my last blog before the end of 2013 I identified the challenge that most of us face in achieving our New Years resolutions.  One comment that came back to me almost immediately was "Well, what does it take to be successful then!?"  I identified at least one success factor at the time, that being an external, unbiased and objective support in the form of a coach, mentor or similar sounding board.  I will reinforce that perspective again but put it within the context of a broader set of tools and techniques that can help you be the better leader you want to be.

Fundamentally, I believe that to be successful you need to treat your leadership development plan or resolutions no different than you would any major project or change management initiative.  Any successful organizational initiative adheres to a certain core set of steps to move from vision to successful conclusion.  Success in reaching your leadership development goals can be achieved from taking a page or two from this experience.

First, how have you arrived at your particular conclusions that the leadership goals that you have set for yourself in the coming year are in fact the correct or best ones?  What process or assessment have you utilized to evaluate your leadership success and opportunities for growth on a go-forward basis?  How objective and comprehensive has this evaluation been?  As with any large-scale organizational initiative, it is to be hoped and expected that the plans for the coming year have been based on some concrete evidence that the efforts planned are the best use of your available resources.  Just as with an organization-wide effort, your time and money are limited resources and you want to leverage them to best effect. 

Second, how compelling are your leadership development goals?  How compelling is your vision for change?  Without having a compelling vision for your personal development, for how you want to be different as a leader, you are unlikely to make the kind of commitment it will take to succeed.  This of course presumes that your goals are a bit more ambitious than merely getting into work 30 minutes earlier than past practice.  If you are setting ambitious or stretch goals for yourself what are you prepared to sacrifice to be successful?  What kind of personal change are prepared to endure to take your leadership to the next level?  If your leadership vision is not compelling enough you are likely to falter upon hitting that first significant barrier.

Next you need to document your plan of attack, break down your goals into smaller objectives, set milestones, and start working the plan.  You have to move from evaluation and vision to action.  Like any good strategic or project plan, you have to move your personal leadership plan out of your head and off the shelf to be of any true value.  It's at this point that you move from the grand vision to SMART statements - Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-limited.  This can be a challenging piece of personal work and perhaps more so in the realm of leadership behaviors and skills.  This is why I also caution leaders not to get caught up in trying to create the perfect plan before they take action.  This is tantamount to paralysis by analysis.  Your plan should continue to evolve and be flexible enough to respond to changing circumstances while keeping your grand vision in mind.

In this plan key milestones, short-term objectives and evaluation measures must also be identified and adhered to.  It is for this reason that a well-developed written plan as identified above should be created AND POSTED IN YOUR LINE OF SIGHT to review on a regular basis.  Again, like any organizational plan, what gets measured/evaluated gets managed.  You need to provide yourself with dedicated time on a periodic basis to check in with your plan.  What goals or objectives need to be adjusted based on circumstances?  What additional effort or compensating strategies do you need to put in place to continue on track with hitting your targets?  Without setting aside dedicated time to do this you will find yourself off track - and demoralized - in no time.

Put in place the necessary supports to ensure your success.  Too often individuals (and organizations) fail to leverage all the potential resources they have at their disposal to ensure the success of their development effort.  We often - and mistakenly - assume that achieving our personal goals is merely or solely an act of will.  Conversely, we then often identify failure in achieving our goals as a reflection on our personal strength or character.  In reality, what we have failed to do is to take all the necessary steps to ensure success.  As noted above, one of they key supports you can put in place for yourself is a written plan.  The very act of committing your goals and strategies to paper increases your chances of success.  Sharing your plan with others - publicly declaring your intentions - further cements your commitments to yourself and may enlist others in supporting your efforts.

At any and all points in this process you may choose to get the support of a confidential, objective resource like an executive coach, peer advisory group or similar individuals or entities.  Such a resource can help you objectively evaluate your leadership development opportunities, support development of a robust plan, and help hold you accountable to your plan. 

Finally, make sure you build in the ability and opportunity to celebrate your achievements along the way.  This is where establishing a series of incremental steps towards your ultimate goal becomes an essential element of your leadership development plan.  You can't eat the elephant whole!  Make sure that you can experience success one small step at a time.  Otherwise you can be daunted by the enormity of the task you have set for yourself or be discouraged if you are unable to see tangible results for the efforts or sacrifices you are making.  Don't be shy about rewarding yourself in some tangible way.

Treat the achievement of your leadership goals as you would any other large scale project.  Give it the same care and attention.  You are worthy of the effort and you will benefit yourself and those you work with as a result. 

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Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC
TEC Canada Chair/Executive Coach/Senior Consultant
hadubiak@wmc.ca

Helping leaders realize their strengths and enabling organizations to achieve their potential through the application of my leadership experience and coaching skills. I act as a point of leverage for my clients. I AM their Force Multiplier.