Setting Goals: It's Complicated

In coaching, we work with our clients to set goals and find ways to have new results in their lives.  At the March ICFNE Maine Affiliate program "Beyond Goals", I got an insight into just how complex and nuanced that can be.

The ICFNE Maine Affiliate program in March was a facilitated discussion based on the book Beyond Goals: Effective Strategies for Coaching and Mentoring by by Susan David and David Clutterbuck.

This interactive session gave me a lot to think about, as I realized the limitations of my own preferences and practices, and how they might also limit my clients.

I left with more questions than answers:

·      Are stretch goals motivating or overwhelming?

·      Am I motivated by moving towards a positive result or avoiding a negative result?

·      Are specific and measurable goals focused and results oriented or too narrow to make a real difference?

·      Are simple and obvious goals just good common sense or a way to avoid exploring and understanding nuanced options?

·      Are goals always useful in an increasing complex world?

·      Are goals set by others more or less motivating than goals we set for ourselves?

In letting these questions roll around in my head for a few weeks, I realize that having more distinctions around goals and how they work for others would help me in all of the roles I play.

·      As an individual, are there options for goal setting that I should have in my tool kit, that aren’t my normal and familiar way?

·      As a leader, how can I expand my awareness and practice to use different approaches with different people and groups?

·      As a coach, how can I partner with clients so they are the best they can be at setting and achieving goals?

·      As a coach trainer and mentor, how do I teach and assess a coach’s ability to partner with their clients?

A big part of the awareness from this program is that my own preferences for goals creates a powerful bias in how I act and how I judge others.  With that awareness comes the desire to pull together a diverse set of people to explore this with me - to get “up close and personal” with different perspectives, motivations, and practices.

These are questions that I will be bringing to my own participation in the next PCC Master Class.

This winter I set a goal for myself. To photograph and share the biggest snow bank I could find here in Maine.  Here's the winning entry. 

 That's my 6ft 2in tall husband standing next to our Suburban in a parking lot in Camden, ME.