One of the most important factors in achieving success with your goals is choosing the right people.

In this episode, Michel shares from her book, UpSkill: Soft Skills and Professional Development Essentials, the FIVE crucial steps in getting your goals.

The first four steps, such as aligning your goals with your purpose, have been extensively covered in the previous episodes. 

However, the fifth step, is so important to consider:  How to choose the right people to help you get your goals.

As leaders, we are tasked with reaching our goals inside our organization. And when we look around, specifically at the hiring process, it's easy to see how the selection (and sometimes the dismissal) of people is directly tied into our organizations' goals.

When you think of your goal, think of who you will need to support you to get there. 

Who will help you bear the load, walk the road, share the pain, ensure you don’t forget your commitment to yourself or open a critical door for you. These are the people you choose to help you get your goals.

Making people decisions isn’t about removing everyone from your life...

It is about making sure you have sufficient people supporting your goals - and limiting the number of people that get in the way of your goals.

At UpSkill Community, we are those important people, to help you set and get your goals.

At UpSkill, we are building a community of UpSkillers, learning and growing together.

Please listen, subscribe and share!

With decades of combined leadership experience, team of coaches, facilitators and subject matter experts can help to UpSkill your organization.

We offer corporate training, coaching, e-learning courses and consulting services for:

• Inclusive Leadership
• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
• Communication
• Soft Skills
• Senior Leadership Training

Email us: [email protected]

Learn more: www.upskillcommunity.com

Over the past few episodes, we've discussed in length, the necessary steps to SET effective goals.

Now, it's time to GET those goals!

In this episode, Michel breaks down the action required to truly GET goals.

Goal-getting, in relation to goal-setting, is like having a strategy, and then the tactics used to implement that strategy.

It's shifting from where you ARE to where you want to BE, and all the steps it takes to get there.

As discussed in previous episodes, the most important part of setting goals, is having a clearly defined purpose. While this purpose is so important in setting goals, it really becomes important when taking action to get these goals.

Goal getting, is very much like a journey.

With a journey, we know where we are going and the direction to get there. We also know that the destination is prized and one to savor. However, along the way, there are disruptions and distractions. All the time, we face reasons to stop, or turn around or not continue.

And for many of us, this is when we "give up" on our goals.

Effective goal-getting, when tied to our purpose, is the reason we do it EVERY DAY. The reason we take action, small steps even, to achieve our most important goals. And yes, reach our destination.

At Upskill Community, we stand with you every day to help you along your journey of GETTING YOUR GOALS!

Thank you for listening and sharing!

At UpSkill, we are building a community of UpSkillers, learning and growing together.

Please listen, subscribe and share!

With decades of combined leadership experience, team of coaches, facilitators and subject matter experts can help to UpSkill your organization.

We offer corporate training, coaching, e-learning courses and consulting services for:

• Inclusive Leadership
• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
• Communication
• Soft Skills
• Senior Leadership Training

Email us: [email protected]

Learn more: www.upskillcommunity.com

It's time to look at how to design the process of getting your goals.

Imagine a builder who sets a goal to build a house in two years. Once the builder sets the goal, do you imagine the first step is start construction?

No. The first step is to design the process to make the goal achievable in the time stated.

In this episode, Michel brings the process of goal-setting to the surface to help us achieve these goals with success.

"To set a goal is one thing - to get a goal is quite another."

The goal-setting (or "goal-getting") process is identifying the resources and mapping out the series of steps in the order required to achieve your goals. Sometimes referred to as an action plan.

This action plan is often built around time. Setting your long, medium and short term goals - all stacked in such a way it makes your goals not only achievable, but accomplished with ease.

It's about bite-sizing big goals into mini goals so they are doable yet stackable towards your bigger goals.

As leaders, when we do this, we quickly learn that the devil is in the details. Taking our biggest goals and bringing them down into small, bite-size portions, allow us to see what we can EVERY DAY to achieve the biggest goals.

So, why do we need to go through this process?

We do this because we are worthy. We know that designing our own future should take an investment of time, effort and resources. Designing this process is one of the most important things you will do build the future you desire.

At UpSkill Community, we offer resources and tools to simplify this process. And more importantly, a community to offer support and accountability with every step of your goal-getting process.

At UpSkill, we are building a community of UpSkillers, learning and growing together.

Please listen, subscribe and share!

With decades of combined leadership experience, team of coaches, facilitators and subject matter experts can help to UpSkill your organization.

We offer corporate training, coaching, e-learning courses and consulting services for:

• Inclusive Leadership
• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
• Communication
• Soft Skills
• Senior Leadership Training

Email us: [email protected]

Learn more: www.upskillcommunity.com

Self assessment is the next step in the process of setting the most effective and impactful goals for your self.

In this episode, Michel explores the importance of self-assessment with goal-setting. These concepts build off of "self-reflection" which was discussed thoroughly in episode 12.

Self assessment is determining key factors that make you...you.

Strengths, knowledge, skills, attitudes, emotions and so on. This process, of scrutinizing yourself produces an accurate measurement of what is working well and what needs to change in order to achieve your goals.

It's taking stock of who you are and where you at this moment.

Self-assessment is how you ensure that you are selecting goals that are right for you based on where you are at this particular moment on your journey.
 
As leaders, many of us are familiar with a SWOT analysis. A method to assess Strengths, Weaknesses,  Opportunities and Threats. And while we often perform this analysis for our business, it's a key ingredient in effective goal-setting.

A personal SWOT analysis, gives you an understanding of the true distance between where you are now and where you want to be. This will improve your choice of goals, your planning process, the quality and accuracy of your goal progress as well as goal attainment.

At Upskill Community, we offer a free 5-step course to help you conduct a SWOT analysis for yourself and your goals.

Join us today and "level up" your goal-setting at UpSkill Community!

At UpSkill, we are building a community of UpSkillers, learning and growing together.

Please listen, subscribe and share!

With decades of combined leadership experience, team of coaches, facilitators and subject matter experts can help to UpSkill your organization.

We offer corporate training, coaching, e-learning courses and consulting services for:

• Inclusive Leadership
• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
• Communication
• Soft Skills
• Senior Leadership Training

Email us: [email protected]

Learn more: www.upskillcommunity.com

As we move forward into Black Futures Month, we wanted to take a moment to share a special poem with you.

In this episode, Michel shares her original piece, "The Time Is Now".  

This piece was crafted for the inaugural Black Futures Month ceremony at George Brown College, and we are thrilled to share it with you now.

Thank you for listening, sharing and, of course, your continued support of UpSkill Talks and the UpSkill Community.

Thanks for listening , subscribing and sharing!

At UpSkill, we are building a community of UpSkillers, learning and growing together.

Please listen, subscribe and share!

With decades of combined leadership experience, team of coaches, facilitators and subject matter experts can help to UpSkill your organization.

We offer corporate training, coaching, e-learning courses and consulting services for:

• Inclusive Leadership
• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
• Communication
• Soft Skills
• Senior Leadership Training

Email us: [email protected]

Learn more: www.upskillcommunity.com

While you have probably heard many times that you should set "SMART" goals, the real power comes when you set the SMARTEST goals!

In this episode, Michel continues the conversation on goal setting by introducing us to not only SMART goals, but also FAST goals.

As leaders and individuals, goals aligned with our purpose, are the most powerful and effective goals.

But how do ensure that we hit these goals?

After aligning with our purpose, it is important to choose the top three goals. These are not just work-related goals, but goals that take on a more holistic approach:  Goals that can be for our health, family as well as associated with our work.

Then, we must "stretch" to make these goals worthwhile to go after.

As Michelangelo says,

"The problem human beings face is not that we aim too high and fail, but that we aim too low and succeed."

Finally, in this episode, Michel shares not only Peter Drucker's famous S.M.A.R.T. goal method, but also the creation of F.A.S.T. goals. Originally created by the MIT Sloan School of Management 

At UpSkill Community, you get the tools and accountability to help you achieve the most important goals for you as a leader and as a person.

At UpSkill, we are building a community of UpSkillers, learning and growing together.

Please listen, subscribe and share!

With decades of combined leadership experience, team of coaches, facilitators and subject matter experts can help to UpSkill your organization.

We offer corporate training, coaching, e-learning courses and consulting services for:

• Inclusive Leadership
• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
• Communication
• Soft Skills
• Senior Leadership Training

Email us: [email protected]

Learn more: www.upskillcommunity.com

There are two important, yet frequently overlooked steps that you should take before setting goals:

The first step is self-reflection which we covered in the previous episode of Upskill Talks.

The second step is defining your purpose.

In this episode, Michel shows the importance of aligning your goals with your purpose, and through the story of Carol, an aspiring filmmaker, what can happen when these goals are not in alignment.

Goals aligned with your purpose (defined by you and decided by you) create an incredible motivation to achieve them.

You stay up thinking about these goals, working on them often, finding strategies to make them a reality, jumping over hurdles to get to them. Time passes without you noticing, and you become overcome with a sense of pride.

However, when we set goals based on external forces, such as family, friends, social media and so on, you have a hard time staying focused. You can feel lost, stuck, confused, overwhelmed and it's generally difficult to achieve even the smallest of goals.

People with a sense of purpose are focused, motivated, passionate, can better regulate their emotions and behaviours, are more likely to improve learning, career and business outcomes and are likely to feel more self-assured.

This is why, at UpSkill Community, we create space to reflect and focus on our purpose, so that our goals are attainable and bring joy to our lives.

At UpSkill, we are building a community of UpSkillers, learning and growing together.

Please listen, subscribe and share!

With decades of combined leadership experience, team of coaches, facilitators and subject matter experts can help to UpSkill your organization.

We offer corporate training, coaching, e-learning courses and consulting services for:

• Inclusive Leadership
• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
• Communication
• Soft Skills
• Senior Leadership Training

Email us: [email protected]

Learn more: www.upskillcommunity.com

For many of us, the beginning of the calendar year is the time when we put most of our focus on setting goals.

However, this crucially important activity gets lost in holidays, wrap-up meetings and family time. Unfortunately, leaving little time to properly set goals that are the most effective for your personal and professional journey.

In this episode, Michel asks us to take the first, very important step in goal-setting:  Reflection on previous goals.

During this reflection, we must take time to observe our attitudes, behaviours and how we have approached goals over the previous year.

Do we have subconscious behaviour that is hurting our goals?

Can we measure our performance of our previous goals to determine if we actually hit our goals?

These are some of the questions discussed in this episode that we must ask ourselves before we can effectively set new goals.

As American philosopher and psychologist John Dewey famously said, "We do not learn from experience, we learn from REFLECTING on experience."

Join us at UpSkill Community as we share reflections on our own thinking and hold mirrors for each other to see ourselves more clearly so we can pursue meaningful goals.

At UpSkill, we are building a community of UpSkillers, learning and growing together.

Please listen, subscribe and share!

With decades of combined leadership experience, team of coaches, facilitators and subject matter experts can help to UpSkill your organization.

We offer corporate training, coaching, e-learning courses and consulting services for:

• Inclusive Leadership
• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
• Communication
• Soft Skills
• Senior Leadership Training

Email us: [email protected]

Learn more: www.upskillcommunity.com

In this final part of our 4-part series discussing and defining the world of skills, we dive into what it means to "Upskill".

Breaking down the word "Upskill" -  "Up" is to move to a higher level with our "Skills"

In this episode, Michel breaks down the incredible importance for all of us, as leaders, to continuously upskill.

According to the World Economic Forum, The nature of work and careers is changing fast. In the future, the right skills will be prized over academic qualifications alone.

That means the future of work will be about cultivating our soft skills, or in other terms, to Upskill.

By upskilling, you will gain new perspectives, identify gaps in your own knowledge and skills and be open to modifying your attitude to adjust in a wider range of situations.

Upskilling gives us the opportunity to keep stepping up our game, to keep pace, to get ahead and to be in readiness for whatever comes next.

Because as we have learned from this pandemic - anything can happen.

Thank you for listening to this four-part series, and if you are interested in putting intention towards the growth of your skills and "UpSkilling" your game.

At UpSkill, we are building a community of UpSkillers, learning and growing together.

Please listen, subscribe and share!

With decades of combined leadership experience, team of coaches, facilitators and subject matter experts can help to UpSkill your organization.

We offer corporate training, coaching, e-learning courses and consulting services for:

• Inclusive Leadership
• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
• Communication
• Soft Skills
• Senior Leadership Training

Email us: [email protected]

Learn more: www.upskillcommunity.com

Continuing our conversation and learning around skills and skill development, we now dive into the two broad categories of Soft Skills:

Intrapersonal Skills and Interpersonal Skills

In this episode, Michel clearly defines these two sets of soft skills and highlights the benefits of developing both.

Starting with intrapersonal skills, these are the personal skills that help us to get to know and manage ourselves better.

Working on your intrapersonal skills allows you to establish priorities, manage workloads and even choose the right career.

Interpersonal skills, as defined by Daniel Goldman, is simply social intelligence.

Developing these interpersonal skills guides us to grow within our teams and our communities, as these skills include listening, speaking, empathy and overall "people" skills. 

It’s about using this combination of skills to get to know and better serve the needs of our diverse clients, customers, employees and other stakeholders.
 
While interpersonal skills play a critical role in our ability to build strong, meaningful, relationships, it's intrapersonal skills that help us to get to know ourselves better, so that we can move with confidence and make better decisions.

In a global economy with thousands of people with the same credentials, soft skills are the great differentiators

At UpSkill, we are building a community of UpSkillers, learning and growing together.

Please listen, subscribe and share!

With decades of combined leadership experience, team of coaches, facilitators and subject matter experts can help to UpSkill your organization.

We offer corporate training, coaching, e-learning courses and consulting services for:

• Inclusive Leadership
• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
• Communication
• Soft Skills
• Senior Leadership Training

Email us: [email protected]

Learn more: www.upskillcommunity.com