I’m an FCA.
“A what?” do I hear you ask?
Fortunately FCA isn’t an abbreviation for something rude or even an expletive. It’s short for Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants England and Wales (the ICAEW). FCA and ICAEW are just two of the hundreds of useful abbreviations I learned during my accounting career but today I want to share with you three abbreviations from the world of coaching.
While I remain a member of the ICAEW, my career and life changed direction three years ago when I opened my doors to clients as a professional life coach helping people achieve the success, happiness and well-being they desire.
While I enjoyed a successful accounting career spanning three decades, a part of me knows that I could have achieved even more success if only I’d set some clear goals at the start of, and during, my career. You see for the majority of my career I allowed the winds of fate to dictate the direction I took. I was like a ship adrift on the ocean, being blown by the wind or pulled by strong currents, with no one at the helm to chart my true destination.
What I didn’t know then was that in order to GROW my career and myself, I needed to be SMART and SPECIFY exactly what it was that I wanted to achieve.
You see goal setting wasn’t on the curriculum at any of the schools or colleges I attended so I missed out on learning this incredibly important life skill.
One of the great things about training to become a coach was that I learned heaps about the art and science of goal setting and, I now share this valuable knowledge with my clients.
Most of the models for setting and achieving goals are referred to by their abbreviations e.g.: GROW, OSCAR, SCORE to name just three. Probably the most well-known and used model is the GROW model:
G = Goal – what do want to achieve? Success, happiness, well being ….
R = Reality – what is happening in your world right now?
O = Obstacles you are currently facing and/or may face on the road to your goal
W = Way Forward. What are your options for achieving your goal? What’s the best option? What’s your action plan to put the option you’ve chosen into motion?
However, before you get into ROW part of GROW you need to confirm that your goal is SMART. You may already be familiar with setting SMART goals for yourself or in your workplace. SMART is another abbreviation:
S = Specific
M = Measurable
A = Achievable
R = Realistic
T = Time bound
When it comes to ensuring your goal is Specific you need to do clearly SPECIFY your goal. SPECIFY is yet another abbreviation:
S = Sensory Specific
P = Positive
E = Ecological
C = Choice Increasing
I = Initiated by self
F= First steps identified
Y = Your resources identified.
For an in-depth explanation of the SPECIFY model simply contact me via the contacts page and I’ll email you a copy of the SPECIFY guide I provide to my clients.
So what I’ve learned is that if you want to GROW your career, or develop as a person, then you need to be SMART and SPECIFY exactly what it is you want to achieve.
Having read this far you may be thinking “Wow there’s a lot of thinking involved in establishing a goal. I’m not sure I have the know-how or energy or motivation, to complete the goal setting exercise.”
That’s where a good coach comes in.
Like all good coaches I have a coach and I’ve found that having my coach guide me through the goal setting process makes the process a lot quicker, easier and enjoyable.
So if you think you would benefit from some help with setting a goal or perhaps you’re feeling stuck in a rut or adrift, why not take the opportunity to get in touch with me today and let’s explore how I can help you set a clear destination so you can start moving your life or career in that direction.
