Leading one’s career requires continuous growth and development. As we kick off the New Year, it’s important to reflect on the year that was and your career objectives heading into 2023. Were there any goals you were too afraid to pursue? What steps would you need to take to achieve them in 2023? Whether you’re looking for a new job, career advancement opportunities or striving to become an inspirational leader within your organisation, here are some key tips and strategies to keep in mind as you make your New Year resolutions for success this upcoming year.
HAVING A VISION AN KNOWING YOUR WHY
Having a clear and concise vision for your career objectives is essential to achieving success. Without a clear plan, it can be easy to get sidetracked and lose sight of your goals. A quality vision should be well thought-out, achievable and as concrete as possible.
That is why it’s so important to dig a little deeper when setting your career goals in 2023. Surface level resolutions like ‘change jobs’, ‘listen to my team’ and ‘develop my leadership skills’ won’t be enough. It’s important to have a deeper purpose behind the goals that you want to achieve. Why is this career objective important for your life? Why is it important to develop your leadership skills? Why do you think it will make a difference in 2023 or impact your team? Taking the time to reflect on and work through these types of questions can be the difference between success and failure.
BEING REALISTIC
There is a sweet spot between a goal that is too easy to attain and the one that is clearly out of reach. Goals must be challenging enough, so you have to think twice how you are going to achieve them, but with which you feel you have the skills and experience to find a way.
Being ambitious and going overboard at the start of the year is a guarantee to get overwhelmed and to do nothing.
A part of being realistic is also limiting yourself to a few goals that feel manageable, rather than having a never-ending list of objectives which. Better achieve a few objectives than achieving none of a too long list! Maybe it’s also time to plant a seed now for your future career.
PERSISTENCE IS KEY
According to a study conducted by the University of Scranton, only 8% of people successfully achieve their New Year’s resolutions and 43% expect to give up on their goals by February. Interestingly, researchers also found that 71% of all people who made a resolution slipped or made mistakes in the first month. The differentiating factor in the successful ones was that they didn’t quit after a slip. In many cases, they doubled their efforts afterwards, which demonstrates that persistence is key.
BEING AWARE OF YOUR DEVELOPMENT AREAS AND BUILD STRATEGIES TO MINIMIZE THEM
While it’s important to build upon your strengths, you should also be aware of your weaknesses. These are the areas that need improvement and should be developed using strategies that will help you better address them.
Seeing these weaknesses though can sometimes be uncomfortable. It is difficult to be aware of our shortcomings and create strategies to combat them. For example asking for feedback (from your boss, colleagues, team members) and acting upon it. If this sounds too uncomfortable, some people will benefit from psychometric assessments and get the support of a career coach to build a development plan and take concrete actions.
STAYING ON TRACK IN 2023
As professionals and leaders, it is essential to set career goals each year and strive for continuous growth. We must have a clear vision of what success looks like in 2023 and understand our why behind our objectives. It’s key to be realistic in setting a reasonable number of “challenging but not impossible” goals. It’s also important to be persistent and to take the time to recognize any development areas that may hold us back from achieving these big career goals, so that strategies can be developed to improve them.
With the right mindset and support from colleagues, mentors or coaches where needed, you’ll have everything to stay on track with your New Year resolutions this upcoming year, even if you slip once at the beginning : get back on track and reach your most important goals in 2023!
CONTACT US
In our experience, we know that defining goals, sticking to and achieving them can sometimes be lonely and difficult. Self-discipline is not enough and it is difficult to get out of your comfort zone on your own. If you would like to be supported and learn more about career coaching, leadership coaching or skills assessment programs, contact us on +41 79 464 92 70, via the Contact form or send an e-mail to info@leadingenius.ch.
At Leadingenius – we are passionate about career and leadership development. We help companies and individuals better identify their talent and realize their full potential. We offer coaching programs to support you in the most important stages of your career and reach your most important career goals.
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