Intention Setting this Autumn
As we enter the final quarter of the year, now is a great time to pause and reflect on our progress. It is often a time for performance review check in’s and intention setting at work as well. In this blogs we will explore strategies to reviewing our goals, performance and intentions.
What have you achieved so far this year?
The first step is to review the goals you set for yourself at the beginning of the year and assess how far you have come. It is important to look at your achievements from many different aspects for example, write down the technical, functional, relationship and personal progress you have made, rather than just the end goal. Ask yourself how you achieved things, not only what you achieved, and how this has developed the organisation as well as yourself. Examples might include:
- Showing persistence to see a project through to the end.
- Developing influence with a new stakeholder.
- Using coaching in your leadership style.
What’s changed since you set these goals?
Life is constantly changing so it is important to acknowledge this and consider how you took account of them in the workplace. Describing how you adjusted is a key step in highlighting your agility as a person professionally, and the levels of resilience and interpersonal skills it required of you to achieve things in the face of changes.
What feedback would you give yourself?
This is a useful question to explore, as it can provide clues to any adjustments that need to be made for the next quarter and areas of development to focus on. Examples might include:
- I procrastinate.
- I am more collaborative than I give myself credit for.
- I create space for my team regularly and I listen well.
Ensure that the feedback is a mix of acknowledgements as well as growth areas. It also builds into the question “what are your key strengths” which is important to know about yourself, so that you can use these pro-actively. Being aware of “strengths in overdrive” is also useful. For example, if you are very visionary, if it is in overdrive you may lose people who need more of the detail.
What feedback would you give your line manager?
In performance review discussions, it is a great time to share reciprocal feedback. Being prepared to share what is working for you in your relationship with your line manager is useful so that you can do more of it, as well as providing them developmental feedback on potential blind spots they may have.
What would you change?
The next quarter is a blank canvas, ideal for intention setting and you can shape it differently or try out new things. Ask yourself what you want to commit to doing in the final quarter, for example, what habits do you need to deploy to be effective?
Stretch vs Comfort Zone
Operating in our comfort zone is useful some of the time, however, for personal development to happen we all need stretch. See if you can describe what stretch looks like for you over the coming months and what possibilities you might have to make this happen.
New Goals and Intention Setting
Identifying the laser focus and intention setting for the next quarter can be very motivating, as well as provide clarity on where you place your energy.
Creating time to reflect and prepare each quarter as above can increase productivity, quickly move you towards your goals, increase your personal effectiveness and self awareness. As a next step, consider diarising time every quarter for the preparation for the next quarter ahead. Consider this not only professionally, also personally as well.
In Summary
Taking time to prepare for performance reviews ensures you really understand where you have added value, what you have achieved and what needs tweaking. It also provides a great opportunity for two way feedback – and increases your self-awareness. In coaching sessions we create that much needed time to prepare for performance reviews and goal settings. If this resonates with you, get in touch to see how coaching can support your intention setting this autumn.