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Whether you are changing careers, exploring self-employment or wanting to invest more time in your own personal development, setting goals gives you long term vision and short-term motivation. The GROW Model is a simple yet powerful framework to start establishing and evaluating your goals as you embark on your journey to achieving them.
GROW is an acronym for Goal, Reality, Options and Will (Way Forward) Regularly checking your goals and progress can help build momentum. Originally developed in the 1980s by business coaches Graham Alexander, Alan Fine, and Sir John Whitmore, this model is an effective tool to use whether you are setting goals around your future career move or personal goals such as running a marathon!
When you set a GOAL (long term or short term) you will need to ensure that it is SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time Bound). SMART goals will help you to create and implement a successful plan to reach your target and stay focused.
Example
My goal is to secure a Finance Director position, within the Northwest of the UK ideally in the Healthcare Industry and earning £80-90k by *date*. (You could break this down further considering the type of organisation you want to work for in terms of size, turnover, values etc.)
The REALITY requires you to consider where you are now in relation to your goal, and check it feels realistic. For example, if you are at the early stages of seeking your next career move, you may need to conduct some market research to understand the demand for your skill set and job market conditions to ensure your goals feels realistic and achievable. You will need to reflect and consider what you have done so far and identify any challenges you have met
Once you have set your GOAL and it feels realistic, you need to consider and make a list of your OPTIONS to determine what actions you will need to take to achieve your goal.
Example
In order to achieve my goal, I need to update my CV, look at ways to improve my LinkedIn profile and online visibility, think about reconnecting with my network and identify some key recruiters and companies in my industry of interest.
After exploring your options, put your ideas into practice and plan the actions and timeframes you WILL take so you have a clear WAY FORWARD.
You may need to be honest with yourself if there are barriers or challenges that will stop you from being able to take action. For example, do you have other commitments or responsibilities which will limit how much time you can dedicate to your goal? Are you being realistic? Do you need to be flexible with the time frames to achieve your goal?
Example
Action 1, I will review my existing CV and make sure it is up to date. I will add my most recent role to my CV. I will review my CV against job specifications of interest to ensure I am including key words and also demonstrating career achievements. I will aim to complete this within the next 7 days.
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