Why you need leadership goals

It’s that time of year!

Goal-setting, goal-smashing, goal-reflecting, goal-boycotting.

However you see goals, I’m here with some news:

If you want to become an effective leader, you need to be intentional about how that happens.

And it’s not just by winging it.

Leadership goals help you (and your team)

Setting goals for how you want to improve your leadership skills in 2024 is one of the most important things you can do for your team.

Struggling with team culture?
Struggling with miscommunication?
Struggling with high turnover and burnout?

Yes, that’s on your company.

But it’s also on you.

Take this to heart ❤️: you are accountable for your team. You cannot be an effective leader if you’re constantly finding someone else to blame.

It is one of the tougher pills to swallow. Especially when you’re dealing with human beings with different needs, styles, and skillsets.

But yeah, the buck stops with you.

Here’s a helpful way of thinking about it: I am responsible for my actions. I cannot change others. I can only create a culture that influences effective, respectful work. If I neglect to create a culture, one will be created for me.

Barriers to effective leadership development

There is always going to be an excuse for why you can’t focus on leadership development.

Time.
No budget.
Something is on fire.
Too many projects and meetings.
Exhaustion.
Good enough is fine for now.
There’ll be time for that later.

These are all incredibly valid reasons for why you should avoid leadership goals. But they will lead you back to where you started:

Struggling with team culture.
Struggling with miscommunication.
Struggling with high turnover and burnout.

🚩🚩🚩

If you work somewhere where leadership development is not funded or prioritized, don’t be discouraged. There are still ways you can take the reigns on your own.

A template for setting leadership goals

Sometimes the biggest barrier we have is not knowing where to start.

So I created a template you can use in addition to prompts to help you think about what you want to focus on in 2024.

Here’s my framework:

• Goal: I want to…[expected result] by [leadership skill].

• Measurement: What do I need to develop this? Be specific.

• Tracking progress: I will know this is working when…

I recommend setting no more than three goals. You can set more, but the idea is that this will take time and energy to achieve. Be realistic about what you can achieve and what skillset will be the most impactful for your growth.

»Get my leadership goals template here«

Happy goal season!

P.S. Remember to delete after reading if you’ve found all you need from this!