Chart Your Path: Step 2

Your goals will balance your short-term next steps and your longer-term objectives. You’ll think about how far ahead and how often you should plan. There are two schools of thought about where to start. You could start with the short term, focusing on your current role and the skills you are building now. This approach can be straightforward because there is less uncertainty about what is right in front of you. Or, you could start by taking a big step back and dreaming about where you want to be further down the road. It’s a good idea to have a sense of where you want to go in the long run. Over time, you will want to think about both perspectives.

• Short-Term Goals (up to the next 2 years): In this timeframe, you’ll think about your current role and your current strengths and areas for development. You can think about enhancing skills or developing new ones, a potential promotion or a new project. These goals are a source of immediate motivation and direction.
• Medium-Term Goals (2 – 5 years): As your current skills strengthen and your new skills grow, think about how these set you up for a future role. The future role could be in your same functional area with an increased scope, or in a new area or new company. Think of this time frame as an “attainable push.”
• Long-Term Goals (5 – 8 years): The long-term is the big picture. Ask yourself what is your vision for yourself? It’s hard to think about what things will look like in this time frame, so imagine a bright future scenario for you. Look at where you were 5 years ago, and then project forward to how you believe your career (and personal life) will look in the future. These aspirations and ambitions will guide your decisions for the medium- and short-term as well.

Once you have drafted goals for all three timeframes, go back and make sure your goals line up. For example, do you have a long-term goal to be a leader of a large organization? If so, you should have short- and medium-term goals that help you build the people management and leadership skills needed to succeed at that level.

Your goals should be achievable, but at the same time, don’t make them too easy. You’re going to have to push yourself to achieve your biggest ambitions. You’ll find the sweet spot that lies in setting goals that challenge you but are grounded in reality. Remember that careers rarely follow a straight line, and adaptability is key. You will be revisiting these goals regularly.

Some other important characteristics of your goals are:

• Stretch: Build on your strengths, be honest about your weaknesses and make sure you push beyond your comfort zone, challenging your skills and capacity. Stretch goals will be key to your growth.
• SMART: Using a framework like SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) can help make your goals specific, actionable and realistic. Go from “I want to be a better communicator” to “I’d like my manager to recognize two advances in my communication skills during my year-end review this year.”
• Professional and Personal: Your career plan and your life plan are inextricably linked. You can’t plan for your career without thinking about what you want from your life outside of work. Personal goals may include family, travel, hobbies, charity, and financial objectives. Professional goals that fail to consider your personal life often lead to burnout or dissatisfaction, even if you achieve them. You must make sure your goals go together so you can succeed in both.

This approach ensures that you’re not only dreaming big but also creating a solid framework to achieve those dreams.