This is a question that’s come up on more than one occasion recently.
“Sonia, I’m not one for planning out my career. I’ve just let things happen and opportunities come my way.”
“Sonia, I just don’t believe in setting long term goals. Things change so quickly, and I might actually miss out on an opportunity if I do”
Is this you too?
Now there are a few beliefs at play here:
- Planning means that you will miss out on ad hoc opportunities
So, this is based on a belief that once you plan for something, it is set in stone and cannot change. How many of you actually believe that?
- Setting out on one path means you have to see it through
This comes from a time when there were limited opportunities and setting out on one path meant that you had to see it through. It also comes from a belief that we have to see things through, or we are not displaying qualities of trustworthiness and reliability.
And yet, there is a difference between never seeing anything through and adapting to changing circumstances, opportunities and taking action on new knowledge.
- Not worth planning because things change quickly, and your plans will have to change too.
Yes, things can change quickly, but that’s like saying that you don’t make your bed because you’re only going to get into it again in the evening. Planning allows you to imagine a future with its opportunities and its constraints and gives you more chances to see the opportunities than not.
One of my clients who I’ve worked with for a few years now, has just started to think about her future with a little more intention. She’s a very successful woman, who has taken opportunities as they’ve come and had a good career to date. She runs multiple teams globally and is well respected. And whenever I ask her about what she wants to do in the future, what she wants to retire from, what legacy she wants to leave behind or any question like that, she is really reluctant to answer it. In fact, I’ve heard her say both those phrases at the top, to me.
Recently, I asked her again. This time because she was unsure in which direction to go. And although the response was very similar, something changed. I asked her to imagine her 90th birthday party. Who would be there, what would they be saying, etc. Now this is something I’ve asked her to do in the past with limited success. This time I asked her in a group coaching session as part of the Rising Leaders’ Circle. The other members on the call, got excited about the exercise and were chipping in good humouredly. And over the weeks a few things have started to change. A plan is emerging. A future vision of working on projects around “sustainability” in her industry, which means that she now has a vision against which to make her decisions.
These are two things that I believe happened.
- The encouragement of the group to think a little further and do so in a playful way, encouraged her to get out of her comfort zone and hold in a very light way, the possibility of a vision for herself. The possibility of contributing to something that would keep her engaged for now and that felt important and valuable.
- Once she saw this possibility, other choices and decisions became easier because they either fit with the vision or not. And this can be enlightening and addictive in the best possible way.
Plan and hold on to the plan lightly
Having an idea, a goal a plan, is really useful. It helps you see and notice things that you would otherwise not. It enables you to make choices and decisions more easily and instead of limiting opportunities, it actually makes more of them visible.
What you need to add to the planning and goal setting is agility. The agility to change course if things change substantially. The agility to make a different choice if you see a far better opportunity. And to do that, you need to hold the goal and plan lightly and you need to have the courage to keep revisiting it and checking in with its relevance.
In addition, what we all need as human beings is a community. A community we can rely on to have our best interest at heart. A community who can listen without judgement and who can cheer us on in our best moments and hold us in our worst.
I created the Rising Leaders’ Circle to do just that. I wanted to be able to support more people on their life and leadership journey and designed the Rising Leaders’ Circle for that purpose.
To join our waiting list and be the first to find out when the doors open again, go to https://soniagavira.com/join-rising-leaders-circle/ and I look forward to meeting you in there soon. What plans do you have? What goals can you hold on to tightly enough to help you get there and lightly enough to be agile as things around you and in you change. Let me know in the comments. Promise to read them all
