Unlock Your Potential: Master the Art of Goal Setting

Hello friends🙂

Have you ever had ideas that you want to implement into your program but you lose focus, or don’t know where to start?

Last week we talked about self-leadership (if you missed it click here). While on my self-leadership journey I found that creating goals made me a stronger leader, and helped me with a long-term vision for my early childhood program.

So this week, let’s talk about goals🎯

I have learned over the years that in order to move my early childhood program forward I need to get off the hamster wheel and learn how to put ideas into action, and not just wishes!

You’re probably thinking🤔”I set goals!”, but do you complete those goals?

⏩Do you look into the future of the program or center you are leading?

⏩Do you have clear ideas and a path of how you’re going to get there?

A goal is one’s an ambition or an effort to aim towards a desired result or outcome. As a leader, what are your desired results for your early child program?

I look at a goal as a tool that helps me focus in a specific direction to move my early childhood program forward as the world around us changes at a rapid pace.

Setting goals can: help someone choose the direction they are going, encourage someone to put more effort into the work they may be doing, help someone be willing to work through challenges or setbacks, or even help someone change or develop a new behavior.

Things to remember when creating goals :

• Make sure your goal is visible: I post my goals on my wall by my desk, and sometimes I have them as my homepage on my computer.

• Develop a plan: I write out steps on how I plan to achieve the goal.

• Break it down to make it achievable: Depending on the size of my goal to achieve, I will break it down into smaller pieces to achieve that larger desired outcome.

• Identify potential obstacles: I create a list of things that could get in my way when trying to achieve my goal.

• Reflect and adjust: Each week I stop and look at where I am on my journey to completing the goal, and where I need to adjust.

How do you achieve goals?

I use the SMART goal method!

If I am not achieving a goal in my set time frame, I ask myself a few questions:

1. Why was the goal not accomplished?

2. Does the goal need to be redefined?

3. Did I use all the resources needed to accomplish the goal?

4. Is this goal still needed?

As you start mastering the skill of SMART goals, you will be able to use this tool to encourage others around you to aim towards a desired outcome. If you are empowering others to master the skill of SMART goals, your team will become stronger and more efficient. You and your team will have a sense of control and have realistic expectations of where your early childhood program is going.

Till next time,

Jen🙂🙂

P.S Click here to receive a FREE smart goal worksheet and sample.

P.P.S If you need any guidance on creating smart goals, please reach out to me! [email protected] 

P.P.P.S Share the newsletter with other early childhood leaders and ask them to join our Facebook group! The more people we have the more successful we can be together!