I don’t know about you however, I can and will admit that I have never been one very enthusiastic about making real New Year’s resolutions. Oh … I tried a couple of times. I actually put considerable effort into identifying things I was going to do come January 1st. Whether it was eat better … or eat less … or stick to a strict regimen of workouts … or grow my business … or, or, or … these commitments lasted from hours to days to weeks. What I failed to do was to create MY plan for what would be required of me to achieve these goals. In saying ‘yes’ to any of them, what did I have to say ‘no’ to in order to avoid working against my own success.
Here we are into the last month of 2013 and it does make sense that we all be thinking of what we’d like to accomplish over the next 12 months in all of the various compartments’ of our lives? As coaches, we of The Third Zone see our role in working with a client as helping them move from where they are to where they want to be going forward. And in order to do that it’s necessary that our ‘client’ get a clear vision of that destination for without that, we all tend to just float along without purpose or direction.
Several months ago I wrote a blog entitled “Whose job is it anyway”. It was about hoping that the bosses would make an effort to teach us what we needed to know because of course they knew that we wanted to advance … or … taking the responsibility for the learning we had to do on our own in order to potentially create the movement we sought. So in this vein and if you look at your current job or department or business, what is it that you would like to achieve by the end of 2014? Here are some questions to ponder in helping you create your own plan of achievement.
- Based on where you are today, what is at the end of your path … say in 3 years from now?
- What would you see as the next step for you in terms of job and responsibilities that will plant you solidly on that path?
- What do you believe you need to learn and/or demonstrate in order for you to be considered as qualified for your next step?
- With whom do you believe you need to speak … both to let them know of your growth desires and to get their input as to what would make you qualified for that position?
- With an understanding of what a move upward would require of you, what are the ways you can acquire the necessary learning … independent of waiting for the ‘boss’ to provide it?
- What are the various things that can/will get in your way of moving forward on your plan?
- What will getting around such obstacles require on your part and prevent you from being ‘stuck’?
Here’s what I can assure you. If you take several minutes to focus on and answer these questions you will have taken a BIG step in creating the foundation of YOUR plan that can make next year one of positive movement .. for you personally, for the department in which you work and/or for the company that you lead. You will also have moved from a too often meaningless New Year’s resolution to a personal resolve to achieve.
How about it? Are you willing and ready to chart your own course? After all, whose job is it anyway?
Mike Dorman
