With the New Year right around the corner, many of us will take the opportunity to start fresh – to hit the reset button. We’ll plan, set goals, and provide new direction for our teams and organizations. That’s what leaders do, right?

But do you do the same thing for yourself? 

Great leaders understand that introspection and self-development are equally important keys to their success. But they often neglect to ask the most important personal goal-setting question:

Who do I want to become?

If you’re a fan of leadership blogs, you know that planning and goal setting are big topics this time of year.

The first blog post I read on the subject (posted on Nov. 9, no less!) was by Mark Miller with Great Leaders Serve.  The blog post caught my eye because Miller asked the question I just challenged you to consider.  In fact, the name of the blog is The Best Planning Question Ever.

To answer this question is to get at the essence of your leadership legacy. 

All you’ve done to date is reflective of who you have been. What you do in the future is intrinsically tied to who you want to become.

So how do you tackle the question?  

One of the best tools I’ve found is outlined in the book Personal Leadership by Schaetti, Ramsey and Watanabe. The authors take readers through the process of crafting a personal vision statement.   

As the authors explain in the book, your vision statement literally becomes your self-fulfilling prophecy. They describe it this way:

“That is essentially the power of vision: what we prophesy, in particular, what we put our attention and commitment to, becomes what we bring forth.”

Schaetti, Ramsey and Watanabe also say that a personal vision statement serves as our:

·         beacon to inspire us toward our highest and best

·         support to comfort and reassure us in times of difficulty or stress

·         compass to give us practical direction for decision-making

Here are the three questions I use to help my clients craft a personal vision statement: 

·         What do you value most highly and what do you believe about those values?

·         What are your unique and positive attributes or characteristics?

·         What difference do you want to make in the world?

I’ve gone through the process myself to create my own personal vision statement and I'm happy to share it with you:

 “With a kind, calm and supportive spirit, as long as I am alive, I dedicate myself to sharing my wisdom and insight to help create a worldwide community of people who lead passionate and authentic lives.”

 If you’d like help in crafting your personal vision statement, contact me at gayle@total-life-leadership.com.