The image below is a perfect example of the difference between what our mind wants to be true and what is actually true. Whether it is a personal goal you are working towards or your Company's strategic goals, the path to achievement is a messy roller coaster!
How do we achieve our goals when there are setbacks, insecurities, and unexpected challenges?
The key is to embrace it with a growth mindset and willingness to continuously iterate HOW you will achieve your goals!
This can be a major shift for many teams, so I will share 3 techniques that you can use to help your team embrace failure and have courage to change their approach.
Design your strategic goals as inspirational statements of intent: They serve as your north stars for the year and represent the ideal outcome of what you want to achieve. Even when the path to achievement gets messy, your team can stay grounded by coming back to the statements of intent.
Celebrate failure: Yes, this means actively taking risks and highlighting when something does not produce the outcome you had hoped for. The team can then discuss what they learned from the experience and what actions they will take now.
Narrow your focus: Rather than having 5 goals, how about having just 3 or even 1? When you prioritize what matters most to the organization and focus on what will help you overcome your largest challenges, the chances of you accomplishing the goal(s) are much greater!
I recently worked with a team that had 4 strategic pillars and 3-5 goals under each pillar for the year. Eeek! They approached me feeling burnt out and disoriented because they did not know where to focus their time and energy.
I helped them narrow their goals into 3 OKRs (Objectives and Key Results), align their team's work to those OKRs, and set up a monthly review cadence to track progress, identify learnings, and iterate!
If you are interested in partnering with me to make this valuable shift, schedule an exploratory call today!
And to help you focus when you feel overwhelmed by your goals, I recommend trying this simple breathwork practice:
Sit comfortably and close your eyes or gaze softly at a neutral point.
Breathe in and count 1 in your head.
Breathe out and silently think release.
Continue this for 5-10 breaths.
Your mind might get distracted and lose track of counting. That is ok! Just start over again at 1 and refocus. The more you practice, the easier it will become to focus on your breath, which will increase your focus with your work!
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