2 Planning my next move
Now that you know what you want to do next, for example, find a mentor or coach or become a mentor or coach, you can start to set some goals that will help you to get there.
If you’ve decided that none of this is for you at this point, focus on developing your self-awareness as that will form a strong basis for any personal development you might undertake in the future.
Try to make the goals you come up with SMART:
S = Specific
M = Measurable
A = Agreed
R = Realistic
T = Time bound
In your Toolkit [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] , you’ll see a Goal Setting tool, which takes you through the SMART process and helps you to write down and plan your goals.
Here is one way of breaking down each goal. In Activity 2, you can come back and fill in the last three boxes (outcome, evaluation, next step) after you have completed your planned actions.
Goal | To find a mentor to help me progress at work |
Current status:
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Development/training/knowledge needed to reach my goal | Understand the options that are open to me either at work or outside my organisation |
Action plan | Research the options – internal and external:
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Outcome | I found out that my employer does offer an in-house scheme so I put my name down and now have a mentor |
Evaluation | The relationship is developing well and I have a clearer sense of how I might progress |
Next step | To put into practice some of the suggestions made by my mentor, by the end of the year |
Goal | To train as an internal coach for my organisation |
Current status:
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Development/training/knowledge needed to reach my goal | I need to undertake some relevant training to consolidate my skills and build my confidence and credibility |
Action plan | Explore coaching training options – internal and external: Internal – talk to HR staff to see if they offer anything for internal coaches External – look online |
Outcome | My employer does not offer training for internal coaches, but may consider funding my training externally – I am currently in discussion with my line manager and HR about possible options |
Evaluation | I am close to signing up for a course that will meet my needs, so I feel satisfied that I am on track |
Next step | Complete the course and take on my first internal client by October next year |
Activity 2 Achieving my goals
Now it’s your turn! Use the template below to set your goals and work through your next steps. If your workplace has a template that is used to support performance review processes etc., use that if you prefer. You could also use the Goal Setting Tool in your Toolkit to make sure your goals are SMART.
1 | 2 | 3 | |
Goal | |||
Current status: a) Experience b) Knowledge c) Skills | |||
Development/training/knowledge needed to reach my goal | |||
Action plan | |||
Outcome | |||
Evaluation | |||
Next step |
Comment
If you have identified more than one goal, prioritise your action plans. Are they sequential or can you do them all at once? Make sure you don’t take on too much alongside your day job – if you don’t achieve all your goals this can be a negative experience.
You should now have a set of SMART goals, and an action plan for achieving them.
In the next section, you’ll look at some of the useful resources available to help you in your next steps.