Master Goal Setting to Reduce Overwhelm and Achieve Success
As leaders we all struggle with overwhelm, whether it's a temporary moment in time or a chronic state. My goal is to help leaders remove the chronic nature of overwhelm, and create strategies where we can acknowledge those small moments and pull some tools out of our leadership bag to manage the overwhelm. Leadership calls for resilience, strategic thinking, mentoring, innovation, trend setting, and coaching for performance. This is no small feat. It's a delicate game of balance that can easily topple over and cause chaos.
Because of this delicate balance, it's is imperative that leaders use strategic thinking in goal planning to ensure that our goals and where we are spending our time actually lines up with the outcome we desire for our team, our business, our family, and or our life. If we are not intentional about where we spend our time, we end up spinning in circles, not making any progress toward what we have deemed critical.
I focus on overwhelm and I share these messages because I've lived in it, and it's not where I want you or anyone else to live. I want to share as many insights as possible so that others will not have to suffer in silence like I had to. I learned how to balance when things around me were falling apart. I've seen how overwhelm can lead to destruction, and because of that, I want my tribe to live in creation, vision, opportunity and abundance.
Many times, as leaders we get to this point of overwhelm because:
we are not setting intentions about where we spend our time.
we are not communicating properly with our teams about strategic priorities
we are not managing up, and providing critical feedback
we are not focused on moving the needle, but our focus is on doing tasks
Operating in this level of leadership will result in burnout and failing to meet business goals. It creates this endless cycle of having to do more work, have more conversations to ensure clarity and juggle priorities both with our teams and our up-line managers. The impact of overwhelm is not just felt at leadership level, but will permeate every level of the organization.
Leadership is not just a title, it's an action. As leaders in business, and in our homes, and families, we are called to act. Having clear goals, aligned with where we ultimately want to be (Strategy) is what's will keep us on the path. If the strategy is our steering wheel, our goals are those bumps in the road that tell us we are veering out of our lane. Goal planning will help set the expectation, and provide clarity as to what the team is supposed to be do. Goals should be so aligned to our strategy that teams should be coming to us to share if a process or a project doesn't align. They will become empowered to transform systems that are not in the same lane or impeding the business from getting to full capacity. Instead of disengagement, clear goal setting, combined with communication will lead to empowered, innovative teams that can and will unleash potential and profit for the business.
Tips for goal setting success:
Deconstruct a big goal into manageable tasks to reduce feelings of overwhelm.
Prioritizing goals and tasks to focus efforts on what truly matters and reduces the sense of being overwhelmed.
Seek support from mentors, coaches, or colleagues to share their goals and progress.
Resilience matters- be flexible in adjusting goals and timelines as circumstances change.
Maintain focus and motivation by setting up accountability partnerships or working with a coach to stay on track.
As a FREE RESOURCE, please feel free to use my easy to navigate downloadable and editable PDF Goal Planning Workbook.
The first page aligns with the SMART criteria (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) as a framework for setting effective goals.
The second page allows users to document goal progress, action needed, obstacles and how to overcome those obstacles.
In closing, leadership can be overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. By focusing on clear goals and strategic thinking, we can cut through the chaos and steer our teams toward success. The tips shared here are based on real experiences, aimed at helping you recognize and manage overwhelm effectively.
Remember, leadership is about action. By breaking down goals, prioritizing tasks, and communicating openly, we can empower ourselves and our teams to innovate and thrive.
Don’t forget to check out the free Goal Planning Workbook to help you along the way. Let’s take this journey together, turning overwhelm into clarity and opportunity. We got this!