My very good friend Jessie runs marathons. That’s her thing, don’t ask me, my body and my mind are still trying to get in agreement with the very concept of running or exercise for that matter. Every year, her goal is to run a greater distance than the year before. Most of the marathons she runs are to benefit charities, and when they aren’t, they’re just practice for the next.

Last time we met in New York, she was trying to enlist the rest of the girls and I to join her for her next race. Which I graciously declined while in the process of stuffing myself with bread and butter (my all-time food favorite, don’t judge me). That’s just who Jessie is, she goes all the way, stretching and challenging herself just to see how far, and how much, she can give of herself. She’s “elastic”, as my friend Deguene would say. If you want to know Jessie, watch her run, watch her pursue her goal of finishing a marathon.

While Jessie’s a pretty phenomenal example, if you think about it, it’s pretty much the same with any goals. The kind you pick, the way you pursue and reach them, and what you do with the results, pretty much define who you are, at work and in life.  

From using the right strategies to avoid setting ineffective goals, to picking goals that are compatible with who you are and what you want out of your career, goal-setting, and goal-reaching, can tell a lot about how you perceive yourself, and how others perceive you in a professional setting. As a result, it says quite a bit about whether you are setting yourself for success, or whether you’re headed in the opposite direction, ahem, you know, the not-so-good one…

 
1. Your goals represent you! Don’t just set goals because it’s yet another box to check on your performance review checklist! Keep in mind the type of goals you select, the breadth and width of the associated objectives, speak of who you are as a person. Pick goals that are in alignment with who you are, yet goals that stretch, expand and let you blossom into who you really are.

2. How you pursue your goals differentiates you! Remember the guy who’d call you at the last minute for an impromptu date, show up late and take you to some dingy bar in the middle of nowhere? Now think of the one who’s been wooing you for weeks, made reservations at a great spot weeks in advance, and even sent you flowers with a sweet reminder of your upcoming date! They both had the same goal on the surface, but how they went about it told you clearly the type of person they were.

It’s the same with goals! Are you the type who consistently adds small steps towards reaching your goals, treating the process just as well as you do the results? Or do you botch the process, trying to get to the end result too hastily? Lucky for me, I married the second guy…

3. Who are your goals serving? Are you setting goals for your own benefit or do your goals serve your team, a charity, other professionals? The “who” component of your goals indicate your character and team playing skills.

Don’t just set goals for yourself! Stretch and expand your goals to grow others, and as a result, grow yourself. Mentoring, team building, charity and organization-sponsoring are great engagement goals that say a lot more about who you are than all the degrees on your resume.

What do your goals say about you?

The Corporate Sis.