Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
A new year is upon us, giving many people a renewed sense of motivation to better themselves both personally and professionally.
This time of year gives associates a fresh start to create – and achieve – new development goals to propel their career forward.
Check out my tips on how to come up with tangible New Year’s resolution ideas for work to set your career up for success.
5 ways to brainstorm new year work goals
1. Ask for feedback.
You don’t have to think of professional New Year's resolutions on your own. Bounce some thoughts off your peers, team leader or manager. You can do this by:
- Sending an email to your colleagues detailing what you’re looking to accomplish.
- Asking your team leader for feedback during your next one-on-one meeting.
These people work with you on a regular basis and know which areas you’re successful in and which you need to refine. Plus, getting an outside perspective may give you some new career goal ideas you hadn’t thought about before.
2. Evaluate your job performance.
Reflect on your time in your current role. Write down what you achieved and where there is still improvement to be made. Doing this can help you create new career goals that could make you more polished professionally.
Think about your job responsibilities and ask yourself:
- What areas am I excelling in?
- What skills can I improve or develop?
- Are there any knowledge gaps within my current role?
- Do I need more support to complete certain tasks?
- Am I meeting deadlines?
While you might focus on your weaknesses as areas to grow, you can also further develop your strengths. There’s always room for improvement!
3. Use your strengths to develop your weaknesses.
Consider combining one of your strengths with a development goal. This will allow you to further advance a skill you already have while simultaneously improving a different skill.
For example, one of my strengths is problem solving. I enjoy providing creative solutions by carefully examining all the data available. I have combined this strength with my area to improve, being effective communication.
To be a great problem solver, you must continuously evaluate how you communicate solutions to others.
4. Create goals that align with each other.
Your professional New Year’s resolutions can work hand-in-hand to help you achieve your development goals.
For example, this year, I plan to use my strength of being a team player to help boost my communication skills. I need to be a strong communicator to work well with others.
Pro tip: Don’t be afraid to carry over goals from the previous year. You might be able to further develop your skills in that particular area.
5. Make your goals realistic.
Be brutally honest with yourself. Consider what you can realistically achieve in the year ahead.
For example, an unrealistic goal for the year may be becoming the CEO of your company. However, you can still work toward that goal by setting up smaller objectives, such as:
- Understanding the skillsets required for being a CEO.
- Learning from a mentor who has strengths that align with skillsets needed for a CEO role.
- Taking on more responsibilities or projects that require strong leadership skills.
I would suggest coming up with two to three new year work goals every year. Try finding a mix of easy-to-reach goals and ones that are more challenging. That way, you have room to focus on developing a few items at a time without feeling overwhelmed.
