When it comes to business, how do you know when a plan is right for you? Too often, we hear of executives caught up in a plan they don’t think will work. They feel that they have to see it to completion, or their jobs will be on the line.
Want real stress? Try doing something you don’t believe will work or for which you can’t really muster enthusiasm. We’ve all been there — working all hours to launch a product or implement a new service for which we don’t really see a future. It’s the exact opposite of what we should be doing and feeling when we go to work.
So what can you do if you don’t really think that the plan can fly or fear that no one will really want it when it is complete? You could walk away, avoid those meetings where all that false zeal makes everything seem possible, and simply disconnect. Shame to let all that nervous energy go to waste, but what are you going to do? You could also run to the boss and whine. But let’s get back to the real world: this project has to work.
For a plan to be comfortable, it has to be one of two things. Either it has to be yours, or it has to be something you can execute with passion because someone you respect really believes in it. If the plan is one that you can really commit to and believe in right from the start, then life is relatively simple: You work your socks off and make it happen, you get other people involved, and you do what it takes to get others onboard with the aims and goals to which you aspire.
But when it’s not that simple, what do you do then? In a situation in which you’re more hesitant about what you’re being asked to do, you need to find a set of goals that are yours alone, that let you work with the project and still retain that bit of yourself that is labelled honesty and integrity. Your perception of yourself as an honest human being is an essential tool in your armoury, not something that should be given up easily.
How do you find these personal goals? What are your coping mechanisms for such a situation?
For more on goal setting, check out our Agile Top Tip – How to set personal goals that align with organisational goals
Take a look at the GROW Model & John’s related article The GROW Model explained
Get in touch using the link below to see how we can support you with planning and goal setting.