In CTI coaching, there is a technique called completion; it happens at the end of a coaching session or a workshop where participants are invited to sum up in a sentence or just one word, where they are now, what has changed for them or what they’ve learnt and what is their take-away learning? It’s an opportunity to reflect and reaffirm what has taken place. It often surprises me the choice of words or focus that clients and workshop participants share, reminding us of the numerous perspectives available from any one specific situation.
You may not have come across the term completion before, however in the work environment you will recognise the process of plan, do and review, with the review of a project or team task often seen as integral to the continued success of the business process.
So how come when it comes to goal setting, we invariably whip-out and wipe-down the same personal and work goals that we’ve tried and failed before, without looking backwards to what worked or didn’t work? For many of us New Year goals setting is something we feel we should be doing, rather than something we fully embrace or are whole-heartedly committed to.
The value of looking backwards to the past as well as the current picture helps us all to have a clearer and fuller image of our impact and our achievements. By looking back, we can then form a clearer plan of what we then focus on in the future.
To help you with looking backwards, ask yourself some or all these ten questions:
- What has the past year taught you?
- Where did you surprise yourself in what you did or didn’t do?
- Where did you abdicate responsibility?
- Where did you step-up?
- When did you fail to act?
- What impact did you make last year?
- What are you most proud of?
- What would others say your greatest achievements were?
- When did you listen to your heart?
- Whose plan did you work to?
So, before you get out your New Year’s resolution, take time to reflect on the past by looking backwards before you begin planning forwards.