Goal Setting and Self-Development Planning for Your Career - 2023
Sarah A. Scala, M. Ed & OD, ACC
Reading Time: 2 Minutes
The start of the New Year is a great time to look at your own development plan and goals! As a lifelong learner, professional in the Learning and coaching fields, and an entrepreneur, I have found it to be critical to invest both time and money into my continued development and learning. When it comes to keeping engaged and your skills sharp, finding ways to think about what and how you want to learn next is important. Each New Year's Day I write myself a personal development plan.
I have a great FREE template I use for development planning and overall goal setting!
As I reviews goals for 2022, I was pleased in my progress with achieving many goals:
Obtain Professional Coaching Certifications (PCC) level though International Coach Federation
Supporting a number of new clients
Creating content and videos for my blog and newsletter (thanks for reading, by the way)
Cycling 1500+ miles
Volunteering 12+ times
Reading 40+ books (audio-books count)
Development Areas on my 2023 List Include
Grow my business to support more clients through supporting ESOPs, B-Corps, LGBT+ Coaching, DEI Consulting, Executive Coaching, Public Speaking, and Leadership Development.
Reading or listening to 40+ books on diverse topics that interest me. I keep a list of books in a Google Docs spreadsheet, so that as books are recommended on podcasts, articles, or in other books, or suggested from friends or colleagues, I have a way to keep track of these possibilities. Sometimes I check out physical books through inter-library loan if they're not available, other times I check out ebooks or audiobooks through apps like Overdrive and Hoopla for free. I also read professional magazines and blogs.
Continuing Education Credits. In order to keep some of my credentials current, especially as an ICF Certified Coach, I need to participate in a number of hours of continuing education. I participate in workshops and webinars for free, other times I pay for learning courses through the Gestalt international Study Center.
Professional Association Membership and Networking events have helped me keep my learning sharp and allows me to meet new people and make new friends. I am involved in:
A Coaching Community of Practice group in Boston that I meet with in-person + monthly
The New Talent Management Network- Boston: member
The Granite State learning and OD Round Table which supports New Hampshire and Vermont HR Leaders (I’m the founder and chair of this group)
Mentoring: I meet with SCORE and Peer mentors regularly to continue my learning
Volunteer in my community by providing speaking engagements and mentoring pro bono 12+ times
Mindfulness - meditating each morning and journaling each day
For fun outside of work to keep my learning sharp, I am focusing on completing a 10K running and increasing my cycling cadence. I’d also like to keep building my swim speeds this summer! As a solopreneur, it is important that I keep myself engaged and healthy because if something happens to me I cannot run my business. For this reason daily exercise, healthy eating, mindfulness, and continuous learning are all baked into my development plan.
What do you do to ensure your continuous learning and personal development? Please share in the comments.
If you have specific questions, ask me. I'm happy to help.
Learn more about our approach to coaching and goal setting in our recent Blogs and Case Studies:
Blog: Compassion vs Compliance Coaching to Bring Sustained Business Change
Case Study: Executive Coaching for Marketing Leader making Big Strides
Case Study: Executive Coaching for future CEO
Questions? Let’s connect. I would love to hear your success stories. Please send them to: hello@sarahscala.com or visit www.sarahscala.com
About the Author:
Sarah Scala is a senior talent management leader and executive coach with 20+ years of experience providing organization development, change management, and leadership development solutions for diverse global and local industries. She is a collaborative consultant, coach, and educator supporting performance transformation of executives, leaders, and teams. Sarah is a methodical, results-driven leader recognized for helping clients reach their highest potential, increase revenue, reduce turnover, elevate business profitability, build competencies, and improve performance.
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