Now that you have set your goals for your ICM journey, you need to start to work on new habits to get to your goals.
When setting your goals for the ICM journey, it may have taken you time and effort to set goals which are SMART, CLEAR & PURE. Planning how to achieve those goals may be even more time-consuming. Luckily, there are tools and strategies that can help you reach your goals in no time, provided that you spend the time and put in the effort to do what is required!
To set bigger goals, you do not need bigger capabilities.
You get bigger capabilities by setting bigger goals
Focus is on your outcome goal and that goal ONLY
In the past, you probably had many opportunities where you went with the flow and it led you to a different path or to a different outcome altogether. The outcome may have been a successful adventure or not quite so, but you would have definitely learnt one or two things from the experience. However, this approach cannot be applied to your coaching sessions, as you are working towards a specific goal.
Ever seen influencers go into a project with good intentions, only to be distracted with likes and shares on social media? They start to focus more on social media metrics for a quick dose of the feel good chemical dopamine, rather than on their initial goal. That’s because they lack clarity on what they wanted to achieve in the first place.
✨If you forget your goal and get caught in the pleasures of other things, you will come to envy those who are reaching their goals.
The outcome determines the process
In your coaching sessions, we will keep focus on the outcome goal that you have set. Your outcome goal from your coaching sessions will determine your process (smaller) goals, which will in term determine what you need to do, or not do, to get you closer to your outcome goal.
Your process goals may change midway, but the outcome goal will remain the same. That’s why clarity on your goal was so important at the early stage of your coaching sessions.
As you work on the smaller process goals, you will notice that there are things you will need to continue to do, start to do, simply stop doing.
✨ Keep the prize in mind (your outcome) and work backwards
Diagnosis of what you are already great at
Knowing and acknowledging your past successes, achievements & wins is a huge step forward towards your goal.
If you are part of the ICM programme, I will take you through the process of best habits, practices and activities from the past which have got you to where you are.
✨ Habits that will honour your goals need to be nourished!
Diagnosis of potential obstructions
ICM coachees will get the opportunity to work on replacing bad habits. For instance, we will work through beating procrastination and distractions.
We will also look at good habits which may be potential obstructions. While good habits that honour your goals must be continued, those that do not take you closer to your goals will need to be dropped or pushed back. No, you do not need to stop flossing your teeth before going to bed. You only need to drop habits that are not taking you closer to your goals during the part of the day when you are focusing on your goals.
Let’s say you have planned to work on your CV between 10-11am. Going to the gym instead during that time – although a good habit if your goal is to be healthy and gain muscles – will not take you closer to your goal of having an updated CV, the gym is only a form of procrastination in this scenario.
Leveraging priority
A leveraged priority is an action that amplifies your force today, and makes future tasks easier.
It is not simply a regular “important” task, but it is an energy multiplier. A leveraged activity gives you a return week after week after week, sort of like a good index fund.
For example, if your goal is working towards managing your emails efficiently, you may find that automatically redirecting subscription emails is a leveraged priority; once all the less distractive emails are out of your inbox, you can focus better on the fewer emails that are left in your inbox. Redirecting the distractive emails will save you time day after day after day.
✨If in doubt – always choose leverage over importance.
ROI of your goals
Here is a tool that you can borrow from all successful leaders around the world. When working on your goals, not only should it be challenging for you, but you should also consider the Risk of Inaction (ROI) on your goals.
- If you do not do your best to reach your goals, what do you risk losing?
- If you do not give the time needed to reach your goals, what do you risk losing?
- If you do not give the effort needed to reach your goals, what do you risk losing?
This may be a new concept to many of you reading this now; once you start to think of the ROI of your goals, you will start to do your best to minimise your loss.
✨ Your life will shrink or expand in proportion to action and inaction
Be willing to change
ROI can only be effective if you realise and accept this one fact – there is a common denominator in all your challenges and everything you do, and that’s YOU. Of course, other people also may have some level of responsibility, but you have been the one who allowed it to happen by having weak boundaries.
If you want change, you have to take change and you have to accept change.
✨ When you get comfortable with the uncomfortable, that’s when magic happens.
Impact Coaching & Mentoring (ICM) for Leaders 