How do you set a professional development goal for yourself? What tip can you offer others who are looking to set goals for themselves?
To help those looking to set professional development goals for themselves, we asked business leaders and entrepreneurs this question for their best tips. From action planning to SMART goals, there are several tips that may help you set your professional development goals for the future.
Here are 13 great tips for setting professional development goals:
- Daily, Weekly, Quarterly, and Yearly Goals
- Start With the End in Mind
- Find Your “Right-Hand” Employees
- Use Your Blindspots As a Catalyst
- Action Planning
- Define Success
- Explore Skills You Are Curious About
- Monitor Industry Trends
- SMART Goals
- Know Your Line of Business
- Do Whatever It Takes
- Make A Timeline
- Don’t Forget Your Values
Daily, Weekly, Quarterly, and Yearly Goals
For me, setting goals is something I look at in chunks. I have my goals for the year which I set up every December for the following year. I have quarterly goals and daily goals as well. By breaking goals into manageable pieces I feel less overwhelmed and do much better in achieving and succeeding in accomplishing them!
Jodi Low, U & Improved
Start With the End in Mind
If your goal is to get to “x” revenue or “y” new clients, think deeper as to why that metric gets you to the goal you want to obtain. For example, if your goal is to grow your company revenue by 20% in 2021 answer the question, “what do I want that growth to translate to?” Do I want $25k in additional personal income or will that number allow me to hire another salesperson? Be specific!
Landon Mance, YourFuture Planning Partners
Find Your “Right-Hand” Employees
I recently plastered every window in my home with giant post-it notes. I strategized the remaining 2020 and early 2021 goals. In doing so, I realized, I can no longer rely only on my “execution” skills. Thus my goal in 2021 is to utilize a “right-hand” woman approach to hiring my first employee. This is big, and I’m looking forward to being able to focus my thoughts on other important business details.
Karen Loomis, No Moss Brands
Use Your Blind Spots As a Catalyst
I have established core values for my business and for myself professionally. A few times a year, I ask my team and a few trusted clients to give me feedback on my performance as it relates to those values. I listen for blind spots and opportunities to grow and the areas identified then become the catalyst for my next set of goals. Having core values established prior to setting goals helps to clarify what’s most important to me and my business and keeps my professional development goals tangible, meaningful and obtainable.
Karen Nowicki, Business Radio X
Action Planning
I am a big believer in action planning! Often, professional development goals are lofty, so it is important to break them up into smaller, more manageable goals you can tackle over a longer period. There are tons of templates online for action planning, so just find the one that works for you.
Jeanne Kolpek, Cadence Education
Define Success
Imagine your most ambitious dreams. Do you want to be CEO one day? Or perhaps you’d like to start your own company? What do you need to do to get there? Start small and move upward as you progress. Whether it be gaining new certifications or shadowing someone, identifying your steps to success begins with defining what your success means to you.
Rex Murphy, American Pipeline Solutions
Explore Skills You Are Curious About
Regardless of your career or professional experience, think about what skills you’d like to learn or topics you’d like to become knowledgeable about. Seek out opportunities you normally wouldn’t have and expand your skills. Professional development is often found in the experiences you didn’t think would ever relate to what you already know.
Vanessa Molica, The Lash Professional
Monitor Industry Trends
Look ahead and monitor growing trends in your industry. Is there a new tool or software emerging that will improve your work? Make it a goal to get ahead of the curve and learn it. Finding opportunities to be on the cutting edge of technology will become an asset to your professional life. It will also show employers your dedication to improving yourself and reflect positively on your work ethic.
Henry Babich, Stomadent Dental Lab
SMART Goals
When setting goals for yourself, it is important to ensure that those goals are SMART. In other words, is your goal specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely? If your goal meets these criteria, then you have set yourself up for success. If not, you may need to go back to the drawing board and think through the details a little more!
Nikitha Lokareddy, Markitors
Know Your Line of Business
You have to know your business. You need to know your numbers, your past, your future projections and set goals based on attainable outcomes. If you have business partners like I do, get their perspective on things too. They may be able to see opportunities you missed!
Matthew D. Hammond, Carrot Eye Center
Do Whatever It Takes
Goals can be difficult to pin down sometimes because you’ve never done it before or you simply don’t know what to expect. If you haven’t done it before, I suggest making the goal and forcing yourself to get the results no matter what. Stay late, eat junk food while pulling all-nighters, and work weekends to make the goal happen. If you don’t know what to expect from your efforts you probably aren’t doing something right. There are ways to develop an action plan with tactics to achieve your goal (Google usually can give you some clues at least where to start), and then you can go from there.
Ben Walker, Transcription Outsourcing
Make A Timeline
A goal can not be accomplished without a plan in place to achieve it. When setting a professional goal, develop a detailed plan with a timeline. Break up this plan into small, manageable steps so you don’t overwhelm yourself. Regularly analyze your progress and adjust your plan as needed to get to your overall goal!
Michael Staton, Lyon Shield Security
Don’t Forget Your Values
Align professional development goals with values. These values can be personal values, the core values of your company, or both. For example, one of the values at our denture center is “Trusted Expert Advice.” With the clarity of that value, setting professional development goals becomes much easier because the goal should support the ability to offer expert advice (such as certifications, training, and experiences). Identify the values first, and then create the goals.
Peter Babichenko, DD, European Denture Center
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