Spotlight on Development – Increasing your goal orientation
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One of the things that can help you achieve success is becoming strongly “outcome focused” – being seen to deliver has great career impact. If you are naturally good at this, it’s simply a case of having the right goals, targets and freedom to deliver. However if you struggle to keep focused on the outcome despite multiple conflicting pulls on your time, then what can you do?
- Admit that you are easily distracted. When a new shiny, interesting thing comes along – don’t jump at it. Make a habit of always asking for time to consider rather than committing yourself on the spur of the moment. Weigh it up against the other things you have to do; realistically, do you have the time? Sleep on your decision. If you desperately want to do this brand new thing, decide what must go from what you’re already doing. And always think about the impact on your reputation if you don’t deliver – which doesn’t mean don’t do it, it just means that you have to be sure that you have the time to do it right.
- Always bear in mind your key objectives. Make sure you know at any given time what your 1-3 core objectives are that you’re trying to accomplish. A great way to do this is to ask yourself what you need to get done to see yourself as “successful” (or to be seen as successful by your organisation).
- Review weekly. Schedule time at the beginning of each week to review progress against your core objectives – and don’t break the commitment to yourself to do it. At the same time, identify one or two key items you need to complete this week. Having these at the top of your to-do list will help you maintain focus.
- Filter new work. Consistently ask yourself whether what you’re doing right now fits with your core objectives. If it doesn’t, should you be doing it?
- Review your time. At the end of each day, think how much time you spent on your key roles and how much was spent on key issues. Then plan what you can do tomorrow to increase the time spent on the right things.
- Break the goals down. By breaking down your goals into component parts, each part can look interesting and shiny – and can be a new thing you can do whilst still working towards your ultimate goal. If you’re bad at doing this, find someone else to help you.
There is really nothing like doing what you say you’re going to do for advancing your career. People will see that you’re dependable and reliable, and will be more likely to back you. And once you have a reputation for delivery, people will be more forgiving on the rare occasion that you miss your deadline.