You Have Reached Your Goal. What’s Next?
Success.
What that means is different for everyone. It could mean money, options, flexibility, freedom, choices, and more. There are many definitions of the word “success,” so many that it’s nearly impossible to give a universal answer or even a rule of thumb.
I do want to, however, encourage you to think of achieving success in a different way.
I see success as a catapult or a stepping stone if you will. Most, if not all leaders are goal-oriented people, and I am no exception. I thrive on hitting targets, including harder ones. I am sure I am not alone on this - the goals that give me the most joy and fulfillment are especially hard to reach ones.
So, you have a goal set, and it’s a tough one. The goal could be a certain amount of new patients in a year, a production goal, a billing-per-hour (BPH) or billing-per-day (BPD) goal. You have been working late nights and early mornings, and your whole team has been putting every effort into reaching this goal. Before you know it, the time has come, and you check your numbers. BAM! You've hit it. Amazing!
Now what? Do you continue like that forever? Now you know you can do it, why not just coast through the rest of your career knowing you have reached success?
Ultimately, a leader never tries to reach success, at least not the dictionary definition. Once a leader has led her/his team to hit a target, s/he uses that information and experience to set new objectives and goals. This new version of “success” is always better than before or aims for a different target altogether.
I have almost eliminated the word success from my vocabulary in my coaching because it's something that doesn't exist in the mindset of a leader. Hitting your goals and targets means you have shifted in the lifelong measurement scale, and you are one step closer to where you want to end up. Wherever that may be.
A client that I have worked with for a couple of years recently informed me that all the stuff we have been doing is working, and he is now in the top 1% of producers in the province where he practices.
"Great!" I say, "Amazing. So now have you reached success?"
There was a moment of silence.
In reality, that client was without a doubt successful in reaching the previous target, but because he is not done yet and is a leader, he decided it’s not final. He has reached this point in his journey, and hitting these milestones has allowed him to launch his practice forward more to reach the next milestone.
Yes, feeling successful is essential. The euphoria from that feeling is what gives us confidence, motivation, and inspiration. We can get energy, resilience, and strength. However, we must keep in mind that the goals that are laid out in front of us are a guideline to get to where we need to go. Hitting them will give us that “yes” feeling and reinforce our drive and determination, but they are not the destination.
Think about where you want to go, and map out the milestones along the way. For me, the next one is what is further than where I was yesterday.
Until Next time!
