“A goal without a plan is just a wish.”
Antione de Saint-Exupéry
We all desire to be successful in everything, and that success could look different for everybody. It could mean leveling up your career to reach new heights, finding better ways to emotionally connect with your partner, or helping your child excel in their academic ventures.
Even though the things we do and how we define success may be different, one thing is certain — we’re all on a similar journey.
There’s always a possibility of bumps, potholes, and roadblocks. However, you can overcome any obstacle standing in your way with proper planning and mindset. With the right directions, you can even avoid stumbling blocks that may show up later down the road.
At DotConnect, we love connecting companies and people to create exceptional teams. To us, that goes beyond getting the right employees for our clients — it means being the metaphorical GPS to help clients and candidates make the right turns on their journeys to success.
If you’re getting ready to set out on a new chapter in your life, or if you’ve hit an obstacle that seems insurmountable at the moment, this article is for you!
We will take a deeper look at goal-setting to set your future endeavors up for success, why surrounding yourself with the right people is essential, and how to take the proper steps on your journey to achievement. Let’s get into it!
Chart the Course You Want to Take
Every remarkable journey starts with proper planning.
Think back to the last good road trip you took. Did you hop in the car with no bags packed and no destination in mind? Or did you start by looking at Google maps, placing pins on all the stops you wanted to make, and packing accordingly?
It may seem tempting to throw caution to the wind and start taking steps down the path to accomplishment without any trace of a plan. However, when you do that, you’re skipping over a critical step that ensures your success — goal-setting.
If you have no goal in mind when you set off, we can guarantee that your path will be more difficult than it should be. You’ll make wrong turns, hit roadblocks, or possibly run out of road. But if you take the time to set achievable goals, you will create a more straightforward route to travel along.
The Three Levels of Goals
Setting goals doesn’t come without its challenges. Sometimes it can be challenging to determine your final destination, and even once you’ve set the destination, the journey can look overwhelming.
However, if you can break down your journey into smaller chunks — just like adding extra pins to your Google Maps route — you’ll find that the path to success is manageable. When planning your journey, you should always have three types of goals: stretch goals, intermediate goals, and immediate goals.
When you think about stretch goals, you should think about the final destination in your journey. Examples of work-related stretch goals include getting a promotion, completing a major project, or leading your team to its highest sales year.
Once you’ve got that stretch goal in mind, it’s time to break it down into smaller, intermediate goals. These are the pins in your map along the way, and they could look like taking the lead on a project to stand out to management, smaller chunks of your major project that need to be completed, or monthly sales goals.
Finally, you’ve got to look at your immediate goals — they’re like gas stops on a road trip that keep your car going. Immediate goals are things you can complete quickly that push the needle forward. They could include delegating tasks to show your aptitude for leadership, finishing a copy draft for your major project, or designating a daily sales goal for your team.
Remember, the better you can be at plotting out your route, the smoother your journey to success will go. Breaking your goals down into smaller portions helps boost your confidence and pushes you forward toward success without constantly worrying about how you’re going to make it to your destination.
Set SMART Goals
We think everyone can agree that intelligent decisions are better than ill-conceived notions, but what really makes a “SMART” goal?
We thought you would never ask.
SMART is an acronym that can help you make good decisions when setting goals. When you stick to the SMART method, you’ll be sure that your stretch goals stay inside an attainable range, and your lower-level goals will build properly on each other.
S = Specific. Start by making sure your goals are specific. Determine what you want to accomplish, why it’s important, who’s going to help, where you’ll accomplish it, and what resources you need to set the specific parameters of your goals.
M = Measurable. After you’ve nailed down the specifics, it’s time to make sure your goals are measurable. Measurable goals keep you on the right track and answer questions about what an accomplished goal looks like.
A = Achievable. The third aspect you should consider in your SMART planning process is how achievable your goal is. It’s fine to have big dreams, but you need to be reasonable when it comes to realistic goal-setting. If you set your goals too high, you will become discouraged by their lack of attainability.
R = Relevant. One thing people overlook when planning their goals is how relevant the goal is to their life. Make sure that your goal is actually worthwhile and that it’s the right time to try to achieve it. Ultimately, your goals need to help you achieve success, and if they aren’t relevant to your journey, they can hinder your progress.
T = Time-bound. Your goals need a time limit. As you set out on your journey to accomplish your goal, you need to make sure you have a reasonable amount of time set aside for it. This is especially important when you’re setting stretch goals because you not only need to account for your target date, but you also need to prepare time limits for smaller goals along the way.
Choose Your Companions Wisely
Solo journeys can be times of learning and individual growth, but having a solid team makes success more attainable.
Let’s go back to that road trip analogy again. You want to take a road trip with people who lift you up. Maybe they like the same music, want to stop at the same sights, or are just comfortable spending hours in a confined space with you. Whatever the reason, you need the right companions to make the journey worthwhile.
The same goes for the team you build around yourself as you begin your journey toward success. If you do a fantastic job at finding people that elevate your team, you’ll find that achieving success is a lot easier.
Focus on Collaboration
You’re going to want to build a team you can depend on as the days accumulate on your path to success, and one key ingredient to a great team is collaboration. Your team needs to work together to have the best shot at success.
At Dot, we know that it can be challenging to find the right people and that the ideal team doesn’t fall into your lap, but these three things can help your team collaborate better.
- Set detailed objectives. Having a clear objective will give your team members a framework to build on to accomplish their individual and collective goals.
- Set clear roles. You want each team member to know what they’re supposed to accomplish while working with you. People work better together when they have a good idea of what their role entails.
- Establish communication expectations. Outlining how your team members need to communicate with everyone else is critical for your success. Your crew needs to know how to talk to one another and who they need to tap on to get questions answered efficiently.
These clear ground rules will help you foster a positive environment, which will motivate your team members to work together effectively toward a common goal.
Embrace Diversity
Everybody is unique, and you want to celebrate that diversity on your team!
Some of the strongest teams we’ve ever helped build at DotConnect center around their members’ individuality. Each person in your group brings something different to the table, and those differences will help you succeed.
Trust us — when your people lean on their individual strengths and a culture of collaboration, you’ll see incredible things happen on the path to success. Strong teamwork is directly linked to overall efficiency, and you’ll start to see an increase as you build a diverse culture on your team.
We Can Help You Connect the Dots on Your Path to Success
Planning for success and choosing the right people to surround yourself with on your journey can be challenging. There are hundreds of factors that go into finding the right people and taking the proper steps along the way, but you don’t have to do it alone. We have the tools you need to chart a course toward your destination — success.
At DotConnect, we’re a team of dedicated talent advisors with a passion for conscious connection. We believe that team members are so much more than a name on an org chart or a cog in a machine and have helped companies like Beautycounter, Samsung NEXT, and Zendesk build people-focused teams on their path to success.
In addition to our hiring services, we also offer our Path Connect program for future recruiters or business owners who want to stay hands-on with their hiring process. This 12-week Accelerator is designed to help you better understand recruitment and make the right hiring decisions on your path to success by giving you the training our talent advisors receive as they start with us!
If you’re a business ready to take the next step in growing your team, someone looking for a talent advisory company dedicated to your well-being, or a recruiter interested in joining our team, reach out to us. We have the tools you need to build connections and help you grow!