Are you a big fan of having a plan? Or are you a go with the flow person? For some of my clients having a 10-year plan really matters and for others this horizon is too intangible to imagine and for them a 3-year goal feels more impactful. In my role as a coach it doesn’t trouble me what the timeline is for the plan, just as long as the plan feels purposeful to my client.
Any plan of action starts with knowing your personal timeline. It is amazing how often the impact of drawing out a future goal can really be tested if the client really does draw out the timeline in pictures on a big piece of paper and include everything that should be included in that timeline. Sure, it’s hard to imagine the future full of work goals but when you add in personal and private goals (for example the age of your kids, when you want to retire, live in a new location etc), it always fascinating how this can suddenly bring focus to the work goals and when you want to achieve them.
Too often we have a work development plan and a private plan of aspirations for our private lives – I believe in bringing these together by exploring client’s stories of meaning in their whole lives before creating a plan. If we hit on a theme that creates a purpose or simply a theme of what they love and want to do more of then the motivation to really make a plan increases. In turn the likelihood of success in implementation increases as you are more likely to push past barriers.
A coach creates the space to you to think and put the plan together.
Having the plan helps you reach for something new and helps you persevere to get there.