Elevate Your Growth: A Process For Setting Learning & Development Goals in the New Year, Part 1

As the calendar turns, the promise of a new year brings with it the opportunity for personal and professional growth. Setting effective learning and development goals is a crucial step toward realizing your aspirations and advancing your skills. Whether you're a seasoned professional or just starting your career journey, adopting best practices for goal-setting can pave the way for a year of meaningful accomplishments and continuous improvement.

1. Reflect on Past Achievements and Challenges:

Before diving into new goals, take a moment to reflect on the past year.   Celebrating the wins has always been something that I’ve struggled with, as I’m never satisfied with the status quo.  I’m always searching for how things can be done better.  However, when I do take those moments to celebrate, I feel much more able to face the next challenge with renewed enthusiasm and excitement.  I’d highly recommend taking a moment to pause and celebrate your achievements and acknowledge the challenges you faced. Understanding where you excelled and where you struggled provides valuable insights into areas that require further development. This reflection serves as the foundation for setting realistic and purposeful goals.

2. Align Goals with Personal and Professional Objectives:

Your learning and development goals should be aligned with both your personal aspirations and professional objectives. Consider how your chosen goals contribute to your overall growth and the success of your career. This is a great time to have a conversation with your manager about where you grew in the previous year, and where you need/want to get to this year.  Don’t wait for your performance review, schedule that time with your manager now.  This alignment ensures that your efforts are focused on areas that matter most to you and your long-term success.

3. SMART Goal Setting:

Adopt the SMART criteria when formulating your goals—Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. This framework enhances the clarity and feasibility of your goals. For example, rather than setting a vague goal like "improve communication skills," you could create a SMART goal such as "complete a public speaking course to enhance presentation skills by March. Presentation skills to be measured by reducing the number of “um” ’s to 0 in a 15 min presentation." This also helps you and your manager know when you’ve achieved that goal, and how successful it has been. 

4. Create a Diverse Set of Goals:

To ensure a well-rounded development plan, diversify your goals across different dimensions. Include professional skills, technical knowledge, interpersonal skills, and personal development objectives. A holistic approach to goal-setting fosters a more comprehensive and versatile skill set.  Transferrable skills mean more professional and personal opportunities.

Start the process of setting learning and development goals for the new year by following these first four best practices.  Doing this is a powerful investment in your personal and professional growth. By adopting these best practices, you can navigate the path of continuous improvement with purpose, resilience, and a commitment to excellence. Your manager will appreciate your investment in your own development, as it makes their job easier, and they look good to their management as well. 

Elevate your skills, embrace challenges, and make the most of the opportunities that the new year brings for your development journey.  Check back here next week for Part 2!