How to Align Your Personal Goals with Your Professional Life
Setting goals is a personal process, but that doesn’t mean it should happen completely independently of your professional life. In fact, you may find that many of your personal goals intersect with your work life. So, it’s important to consider if you are positioned in the right career setting to truly thrive. As you begin the new year, take the following steps to align your personal goals with your professional life.
Root Your Goals to Align with Your Core Values
Your personal goals should reflect your core values. For example: if you are dedicated to bettering the world around you, you may pursue a career that allows you to give back to the community, such as paid time for community service or working for a non-profit in your area. Rooting your goals and aspirations in your personal values will help you better recognize those values in your current or prospective employer. This will allow you to feel good about where you’re headed and know that you’re in the right place to achieve success in life.
Understand Your Employer’s Expectations & Purpose
When it comes to setting specific personal goals that relate to your work, it is important to take a step back and understand how those goals will relate to your employer. Ideally, your goals should support the greater goals of the company and reflect their priorities along with your own. How does the work you do make a difference?
Remain Adaptable
Goal-setting in your professional life means that you need at least some support from your organization and your peers. So, you may need to be somewhat flexible on how specific timelines and metrics align with your team’s priorities. Flexibility doesn’t mean compromising your goals entirely, which is why you should consistently reflect on your personal values as you set goals for the year.
If you need some help evaluating how your personal goals and your professional life fit together, Crosworks can help. We have tools to provide personal and career insights, along with experienced coaches to help you ask – and answer – the right questions of yourself. Reach out to us to schedule a free, exploratory phone call.