Navigating Change: The Power of Goal Setting for Digital Tech Professionals
Change is constant in our digital tech world. Whether you're facing a restructure in your organization, contemplating a role change, or considering a move to a new specialisation, having clear goals can provide direction and purpose. Goal setting is a holistic exercise that extends beyond work, helping you stay on track in all areas of life. This blog explores why goal setting is important, how it works for some and not for others, and offers practical tips to get you started on your goal-setting journey.
Don’t worry this isn’t a blog about SMART goals - we all know about them already.
The Importance of Goal Setting
There are studies that show us setting specific and challenging goals leads to significant improvements in motivation, focus, and performance by releasing dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with reward and motivation.
Not convinced? take a look at people you consider to be successful - maybe Elon Musk or maybe a colleague - many successful people credit their targeted goals and unwavering determination for reaching these as helping them achieve professional heights.
Imagine a data scientist aiming to transition into a machine learning engineer role. Setting specific goals like acquiring proficiency in Python libraries like TensorFlow and completing a relevant online course can provide a roadmap for achieving this career shift.
Goals don’t work for everyone
Goal setting is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Personality traits, such as conscientiousness and self-discipline, can significantly impact the success of goal setting. Studies indicate that individuals with higher levels of these traits are more likely to set and achieve their goals effectively.
External factors like support systems, resources, and workplace culture also play a crucial role in the effectiveness of goal setting. Creating an environment that supports your goals is essential. This might involve seeking mentorship, joining professional communities, or utilising tools and resources that facilitate goal achievement.
Personally I love to have a list I can cross off - not online, in a notebook - it’s so satisfying. I do this for my to do list and for my goals. Something tangible, a form of gamification essentially.
Practical tips to get started
Start by reflecting on your long-term vision. What do you want to achieve in both your career and personal life? Spend time contemplating your passions, strengths, and aspirations.
Do your preparation. If you are focusing on changing or pivoting your career do your research, what’s trending? what would be of benefit to your employer? (if you are wanting them to help with funding or time), where are the demands job wise elsewhere?
Actionable steps. Break down your goals into actionable steps and create a timeline for achieving them. You can use your favourite productivity tool (eg: Trello or Asana) for your own goal management to organise and track progress.
Create ways to celebrate success. Remember to create milestones designed to celebrate smaller achievements, this can help you maintain momentum and prevent discouragement - and you get a dopamine hit when you cross one off your list too!
Find a support person. A mentor or colleague, your significant other or someone from your wider community can really help keep you motivated and on track - for me having someone else to “keep me honest” really works. Their role can be light touch, checking in with you, talking through obstacles or mental hurdles.
Final thoughts
People tell me they find it easy to do all of this - visualise what they want to achieve, break it down into actionable steps, create milestones etc - but where they come unstuck is sticking to the plan. I get this, life gets in the way. My advice here is to make the time, create a review checkpoint in your schedule every week - Sunday afternoon for instance - where you review, reflect and plan what’s next.
Maintaining motivation and momentum can be hard, especially when your goals are like multi-year projects with long-term outcomes. It's easy to feel discouraged by detours or setbacks. But here's the thing: if your vision for the future remains the same, the only thing that truly suffers is the timeline.
Think of it like a weight-loss journey. Cheat days and holidays might throw you off track, but you can always pick yourself up and get back on course. The destination – a healthier you – remains the same.
Final thoughts:
Big wins take time
Focus is key
Resilience is a muscle and
Be Flexible (not fragile) you’ve got this!
