GROWing Through Adversity
Can you remember back to December 2019, reflecting and closing out on the year and setting goals and making plans for 2020? A shiny new year at the start of a new decade, full of wonder, excitement, and possibility.
Personally, I enjoy taking time to look over the year that’s coming to a close, celebrating the accomplishments, and planning/setting goals for where I want to be at that same time in 365 days.
I don’t know about you, but I didn’t think to include a global pandemic in my visioning and goals planning for 2020. Obviously I was short-sighted. Just the month of March alone seemed like an entire 365 day period. Like me, you’re probably taking a hot minute to think about how the challenge of COVID-19 either has already blown your goals out of the water or at the very least is going to reshape them. Actually, new goals have been thrust upon each of us whether we like it or not. You may suddenly be teaching your children or having to learn how to use online collaboration tools to accomplish your work. Sadly, many may have a new goal of looking for a new job because of this disruption.
At times like these, we can still thrive and achieve. We may just need to level-set our expectations, both those we have of ourselves as well as those we have of others. In order to do this, we may have to set new, short-term goals. One way to do this is using the GROW model. This model was developed in the 1980’s and offers an easy to understand method to set and achieve goals. I use it often in my coaching practice, and also teach it to managers and leaders who are developing and supporting their teams. GROW is an acronym that stands for: Goal, Reality, Options, Way Forward. So let’s take a step back together and set a short-term goal for a month from now. You can even use this handy-dandy GROW tool to write out your goal and keep it in front of you.
Step 1: Determine your goal. Describe what you want to have accomplished at the end of April. Specifically think about how you’ll know you’ve achieved it? What will you be seeing, thinking, feeling? If you think of taking a trip using your GPS this is where you enter your destination.
Step 2: Describe your current reality. Be honest with yourself. If I want to become an expert on using the Zoom web collaboration tool, but don’t know how to log into a Zoom meeting, I need to be prepared for more in-depth learning. Using our trip analogy, this is where you enter your starting point.
Step 3: Discover your options. What resources are available to you to help you achieve your goal? Who can you reach out to or where can you go to gather information? What barriers do you need to be prepared for? In our trip analogy, this is where your GPS shows you the different routes you can take to reach your destination.
Step 4: Commit to your way forward. What is the first action step you need to take to get started? When will you take that step? Who can you enlist as your accountability partner? On our trip, this is where you jump in the car and go!
I would love to see or hear about the goal you set for this month! If you need help with your goal or need an accountability partner, I am here!
