How to Set Goals for Work

Your work isn’t just about tackling your tasks and to-dos. You should also be thinking about your long-term work goals. 

Work is so busy that you’re probably spending most of your day urgently trying to meet deadlines or putting out fires. Or, maybe you have the opposite problem: you’re feeling complacent about your work, and you’re experiencing career inertia. Regardless of what your work situation may be, you’ll definitely benefit from setting goals for work. 

It’s so important to you and your career to carve out time to think about your bigger work goals and the things you hope to achieve. This is especially important if you’re hoping to land a promotion at some point or get a better job title. 

Here are just some of the reasons why it’s important to set work goals:

1. They give you a sense of purpose. Knowing what your overall goals and priorities are gives a sense of purpose to your day. Your work has more meaning. You know exactly what you should be doing and why.
2. Work goals ensure your professional development. Work goals ensure that you’re constantly learning, developing, and evolving. You won’t be stuck in your role forever because you’re learning new skills and improving your current ones so that you can successfully reach the next step in your career.
3. Work goals help you track your progress. When you set work goals for yourself, you then have something to measure your work against. You can clearly see for yourself: did I achieve this thing or not? Later, when you’re in a performance review with your boss, you’ll have plenty of evidence that shows your progress and demonstrates your success.

How to sync your work goals with your team/manager’s goals

Obviously, we all have our own professional goals that we’d like to pursue – make more money, get promoted, etc. But if you really want to do well in the office and stand out, you need to support your manager and make sure that your goals are aligned with your manager’s goals. 

Your manager has a set of specific goals that they want to accomplish, and that are in service of their organization's or boss’s needs. Your job is to help them advance these goals. Otherwise, your work could derail these goals or just be a waste of time. For instance, if your manager's main goal is to increase social media followers for the quarter, but you’ve been spending all your time trying to learn a second language - unless your company is trying to gain new followers in a foreign country, that goal is not exactly compatible with the company’s overarching goals.

Here’s how to make sure that your work goals are compatible with your manager’s.

Identify your manager’s work goals. What does your manager want to accomplish this year, this quarter, this month? Read your company’s strategic plan. Pay attention at team meetings and at one-on-ones. Take note of what they hope to accomplish. 

Figure out how to help them realize their work goals. Make a list of ways that you can help your manager achieve their work goals. At your next one-on-one with your manager,  share your ideas with them and see if they agree with your suggestions. 

You can also ask: “What are some ways that I can help you with X,Y,Z?” This way, your work will always be in harmony with your manager’s work goals. 

Define your work goals in the context of your manager’s goals. So if your manager’s goal is to increase social media followers, and their main priorities are Instagram and TikTok, then some of your work goals can be: learn how to analyze data on Instagram or learn how to create engaging reels.

Ideas for goals to set for work

Before you start setting new goals for work, you’ll want to assess your current work situation first. You need to know where you’re currently at so that you can figure out where you’d like to go next. Here are some prompts to help you assess your current work situation.  

How do I feel about my current role or job? If you’re feeling satisfied, then what are the things you like about your job and how can you be doing more of that? If you’re dissatisfied, why do you think you feel that way? What are some things that would improve your job or career?

What is some feedback I’ve been receiving on my work? Has your manager commented on your need to improve your time management? Or communication skills? While criticism isn’t easy to hear, it can shine a light on areas of growth. 

What skills do I need to advance in my industry? What skills are lacking? Or what do I need to round out my portfolio? In order to stay ahead in a competitive industry, it’s always a good idea to think about the skills and technologies you need to master in order to be a strong candidate. If you need help coming up with ideas, you can always refer to job descriptions of jobs you’d like to have some day. This will give you an idea of what companies are looking for in a candidate. 

Now that you have a better sense of the direction you’d like to be heading in your career and what you need to do to improve, here are some ideas for good goals for work.

• Take a class or workshop to learn a new skill. Examples: Take a graphic design course or public speaking class. 

• Attend a networking event a month.

• Meet with a colleague I admire at least once a month. 

• Improve my time management by using productivity tools like a timer or planner. 

• Take on a project to develop my leadership skills.

• Establish myself as a credible voice in the industry by writing LinkedIn posts or starting a newsletter. 

• Increase my digital presence by creating a website and social media account.

• Be more prepared for meetings by studying the materials beforehand. 

• Become a better team player by listening to the team’s needs, asking team members if they need support, and helping with project coordination.

• Start a side hustle to develop my skills and interests.