Your Next Clear Move
Welcome to Your Next Clear Move™—the podcast for leaders, professionals, and high-capacity humans who are done “getting ready” and ready to move.
I’m Debbie Peterson, Leadership Readiness Expert, and in each episode I deliver grounded insight, clarity-driven mindset strategies, and one actionable step to help you stop the drift and lead yourself forward.
This isn’t about fixing what’s broken. It’s about reconnecting to what matters—and making decisions that align with who you are and how you want to lead next.
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Your Next Clear Move
Developing Your Leadership Vision: SMART Goals for 2025 Success
Unlock the secrets to impactful leadership without sacrificing your personal life, as we explore the power of SMART goals in guiding your leadership journey. Imagine steering your team with precision and purpose—how much more could you achieve? In this episode of the Getting to Clarity podcast, I, Debbie Peterson, promise to arm you with the insights needed to set clear, measurable objectives that not only align with your leadership vision but also drive genuine progress. Embrace the art of prioritizing and maintaining focus, ensuring you're not just busy but truly productive.
Join me as we embark on a reflective journey, assessing the past year to glean indispensable lessons and feedback, which will form the foundation for your growth and success in 2025. We'll delve into crafting a leadership vision that embodies the attributes of the great leaders you admire, and translate that vision into actionable SMART goals. This process is your roadmap to fostering a cohesive team, enhancing communication, and sharpening your leadership acumen. Tune in to steer your leadership path with clarity and intention, making every step count towards a brighter future for you and your team.
Hey, hello and welcome back. I am Debbie Peterson of Getting to Clarity, and this is another episode of the Getting to Clarity podcast. This is the place where you come if you want the tips, tools and techniques to create more of an impact in your leadership with less of a sacrifice in your life. And today we are talking about SMART goals. It is that time of year, so stay tuned.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the Getting to Clarity podcast.
Speaker 3:The place where busy leaders discover how to create more success in their leadership journey with less sacrifice in their life.
Speaker 2:Here's your host, debbie Peterson, of Getting to Clarity.
Speaker 1:Well, and it's not just smart goals, it is smart leadership goals, because I want you to create momentum. You know, leadership for me in my world is about creating clarity. It is a way forward for yourself, for your team and for your organization. And setting SMART goals is one of the best ways to achieve this type of clarity, because these goals provide direction for you. They help you prioritize, they keep you on track and keep you and your team focused on what truly matters to move the needle. So if you're new to leadership or just looking for a better way to approach your goals in 2025, then this process can help you create goals that align not only with your vision as a leader, but also lead to measurable progress. So why? Why SM smart goals? Why do they matter for you as a leader? Leadership without clear goals is really trying to steer a ship without any sort of sense of direction. Smart goals act as your compass, so they give you a way to measure your success and ensure you're heading in the right direction. Because we are all so busy, we carry a lot, and that is when we get distracted and lose focus. Smart goals get us back on track. They also help you avoid the trap of being busy instead of being productive. So when you have smart goals, you know what to do, you know where to focus your energy and you know what you're trying to make an impact on with yourself, your team and your organization. So here are some questions that you can start asking yourself. First would be what do I want to achieve as a leader this year? Okay, and allow yourself to empty out and just whatever comes to mind, jot it down. And then the second level question is how will this impact my team and organization? By answering these questions, you're already starting to create the foundation for your goals. Now, what happens next? After you ask these questions, let's go through these steps to help you.
Speaker 1:Step number one reflect on this year. So, before setting new goals, you want to take a moment to look back on the past year. You're the rear view mirror. You are looking to reflect because that is a powerful way to uncover the patterns and the lessons that can really help guide your focus in 2025. So think about what worked well and where you might improve. What leadership moments made you proud, you know what challenges did you face and what did that teach you. These are all valuable lessons. Consider the feedback that you've received over the past year, you know, was there advice or feedback that stood out, things that you could improve about how you lead? Ask yourself what you would do differently as a result. So these questions, although simple, are powerful and they keep you focused on what is working and what isn't. Then, and only then, can you set goals for this year that build upon them, because it will give you the roadmap for the areas you need to address that you need to grow.
Speaker 1:Step number two define your leadership vision for 2025. So your goals should connect to something bigger your vision as a leader. What kind of a leader do you want to be? You know, one of the exercises I take my leadership development cohorts through in the very beginning is you know, think of a person, a very specific person, that is a great leader. What is it that they embody? What do they do, what are their characteristics or attributes? And they're able to articulate it. And then we go to the dark side and say, okay, what's on the flip side? So you know, at some level, what kind of leader you want to be. So for you, articulate that for yourself and then take action in that direction. If you know it's about creating a more cohesive team, improving communication or enhancing your leadership skills. Make sure it's tied together with your why, the kind of leader that you want to be. So, for instance, you know, maybe your vision is to create a more engaged team. That's high on the bucket list for a lot of organizations and team leads. Your goals might include introducing a new feedback process to strengthen collaboration.
Speaker 1:So, you know, start with in 2025, I want to OK and then just go from there. A simple step keeps you focused, keeps you building a clear foundation for setting actionable goals. So start drafting that vision. Step number three turn your vision into a smart goal. So, once you kind of empty out about hey, this is the kind of leader I want to be, this is my why, this is what I'm looking to accomplish this year, creating that vision, then you want to turn it into a SMART goal.
Speaker 1:So, with your vision in mind, refine it into the SMART goal process Specific, measurable, actionable, relevant and time bound. So this framework ensures that your goals are very clear and actionable, rather than vague and ambiguous. So start by clearly defining what it is that you want to achieve, specifically what you want to achieve. Then decide how you're going to measure your progress. You know how do you measure success. How do you know you're moving in the right direction, so that you're actively moving toward what it is that you want. Make sure that it aligns with your overall vision and your why as a leader, and then put a deadline on it to make sure that it creates some sort of urgency, that you know what steps to take when. So, for example, instead of saying I want to improve team communication, it might be a little more specific that and you say I want to implement team huddles weekly by the end of the first quarter to improve communication and ensure that tasks are completed on time at least 90% of the time. So a smart goal like this gives you a clear plan and a way to measure your progress. Is it happening or isn't it?
Speaker 1:Step four break goals into manageable steps. You know the problem is with big goals, they can feel really overwhelming. So what we need to do is we need to break them into smaller, actionable steps. Ask yourself what is the very first thing that you need to do to get started, like, pick one thing to get you into action. Maybe it's specific resources, maybe it's support from someone. What are the milestones that are going to help you track your progress. So, for instance, if your goal is to create a mentorship program, which is really easy to do, your smaller steps might be researching mentorship models. It might be identifying participants who can be a mentor and who you would pair them with. Maybe it's piloting the program with a small group. Each step brings you closer to your goal and helps keep the momentum going. So, breaking goals into manageable pieces it makes them more achievable, but also it helps you stay in action and it keeps you motivated to achieve the ultimate goal as you work through them.
Speaker 1:Step number five build accountability into your plan, because no leader succeeds alone. Think about the people who can support you to be accountable to your vision, to your plan. Think about mentors and coaches. They have guidance and expertise they can share to make the process easier. Think about something as simple as having an accountability partner. Hey, this is what I'm going to do. And then you do check-ins with them and they're just making sure that you're doing what you said you were going to do. They help you stay on track. Team members Maybe you're getting buy-in from your team members. You're aligning their efforts with your goals, so it's more collaborative. So share your goals with someone who can help you, maybe provide feedback. Maybe they are giving you encouragement, but just by virtue of having regular check-ins will help you stay focused on what your ultimate goal is.
Speaker 1:Finally, step number six track your progress. Celebrate the wins. I can't say how important that is. So important Goals are not set it and forget it sort of activities. You want to schedule monthly reviews. You want to assess your progress. You want to take that feedback and make adjustments. Maybe it is quarterly check-ins is a great way to dive in a little bit deeper and then make adjustments as necessary. And don't forget, celebrate what is going right, no matter how small it is, by you acknowledging your progress. It helps to keep you motivated and it also reinforces the habits that you are taking on that are leading to your success.
Speaker 1:So what's next? Well, it's your turn now. Take just 30 minutes in the next couple of days, reflect on 2024 and start crafting your vision for 2025. Write down your goals, take them through this SMART goal process and outline at least one step that will get you into action, to moving forward. And if you need help in refining your vision or staying accountable, I'd love to support you. Just reach out to me. If I can be of good service, I'd be delighted. Or head on over to my website at wwwdebbypetersonspeakscom. Tons of tools and insights there to help you lead with clarity and confidence in 2025. So here's to a year of focused leadership and measurable success. Be good to yourself and bye-bye for now.
Speaker 2:Thank you for listening to this episode of the Getting to Clarity podcast with Debbie Peterson.
Speaker 3:If you enjoyed this show, please rate and recommend it on iTunes or wherever you enjoy your podcasts.
Speaker 2:To learn more about how you can bring Debbie and her transformational clarity leadership strategies to your organization, visit DebbiePetersonSpeakscom.
