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Goals & Growth Plan [FREE]
Overview
A 6–step framework to translate values and motivations into actionable goals in the format of Objective and Key Results.
Objective and Key Results are popularised by Google, and it’s a way to try to set ambitious goals and track progress.
Objective
Actionable OKRs for individuals
Value
Align a person’s value & motivations to company objectives
PEOPLE
1+
PREP TIME
30 min
TIME
150 min
DIFFICULTY
Medium
Who
For all individuals in an organisation, including...
- Your entire design team
- Your direct reports, i.e. Senior UX Designer
- Your manager, i.e. VP of Design
- Your dotted-line reports, i.e. Junior UX Designer
- Your dotted-line reporting, i.e. Head of Product
When
Use this play when you find that any of the statements below are true...
- You’re a first-time manager
- You have a new direct report
- You have just joined a new company
- You have started a new role (within your current company)
- You want to set better goals that align to both designer and company
Pro Tip
Try this framework as part of your onboarding process
Contents
Skip to the relevant step...
Overview⭐ 1. Find your motivators1️⃣ Answers questions (15 min)2️⃣ Group answers (5 min)⭐ 2. Find your values1️⃣ Group motivators (5 min)Example⭐ 3. Goals (or Objectives)1️⃣ Review Motivators & Values (5 min)2️⃣ Brainstorm Goals (15 min)⭐ 4. Categorise1️⃣ Categorise (5 min)2️⃣ Refine into Objectives (15 min)3️⃣ Related Objectives, Values, Motivators (10 min)⭐ 5. Key Results1️⃣ Brainstorm Key Results (15 min)2️⃣ Refine into Key Results (15 min)⭐ 6. Choose your focus1️⃣ Top 2-3 (5 min)1️⃣ Tracking Method (15 min)⭐ 7. Bonus: Roadmap⭐ 8. Summary
Materials
Pen
Sticky notes
Computer
Spreadsheet
⭐ 1. Find your motivators
Motivators are the reasons or stimulus of why you do what you do. A key to finding your motivators is reflection. You need establish:
- What you really care about personally and what makes you happy
- A understanding of your current role and skills
1️⃣ Answers questions (15 min)
- Q. What are some key life moments that you’ve felt proud, happy, positive, etc..?
- Q. What are the most rewarding or frustrating aspects of your current role?
- Q. Do you feel challenged or stretched in your current role? What would make it more challenging? What isn’t challenging you?
- Q. What feedback have you received from other people on your strengths and weaknesses?
- Q. What areas are you hoping to improve in?
- Q. What keeps you in your center?
Pro Tip
Write down as many answers as possible, one answer per Post-it
You should have a bunch of Post-its. Now use the affinity diagram techniques and turn them into our motivators.
2️⃣ Group answers (5 min)
Group your answers into themes and give the themes a name.
Pro Tip
Ask yourself, “What are the motivators behind your key life moments, challenges, and rewarding situations?”
⭐ 2. Find your values
Values are the principles or standards of behaviour; your judgment of what is important.
We’ll use affinity diagram again to make sense to generate core values from your handful of motivators.
1️⃣ Group motivators (5 min)
Group motivators into themes and give the themes a name.
Pro Tip
Ask yourself, “What are the values behind these motivators, and why is it important?”
Pro Tip
Multiple motivators can belong to a single value, you just have to decide which one belongs where. Alternatively, duplicate the motivator.
Example
Below is an example of how to relate answers to motivators to values.
Try to find at least major 3–4 values.
Pro Tip
If you’re struggling with defining the values, read this article for some inspiration.
⭐ 3. Goals (or Objectives)
Objectives are things you want to achieve that are ambitious, qualitative, and actionable.
1️⃣ Review Motivators & Values (5 min)
Spend 5 minutes to read through all your grouped motivators values.
Pro Tip available
2️⃣ Brainstorm Goals (15 min)
Spend 15 minutes to brainstorm goals.
Go for quantity NOT quality.
Don’t worry, you’ll get a chance to refine them later.
Use these prompts to help with brainstorming:
- Where do you see yourself in one, five, and ten years?
- If money or your current skills weren’t an issue, what would be your dream role?
- What are your interests?
Example
Pro Tip available
Pro Tip available
Below is an example of how to relate Motivators to Values to Goals.
⭐ 4. Categorise
1️⃣ Categorise (5 min)
Categorise your brainstormed goals into 4 key areas:
- Professional
- Personal
- Health
- Relationship
Pick 3–4 goals for the next 6-12 months.
Then you’ll refine them into Objectives.
Pro Tip available
Pro Tip available
2️⃣ Refine into Objectives (15 min)
Rewrite and refine your 3-4 goals.
Objectives should be ambitious, qualitative, and actionable.
Pro Tip available
Template
Fill in the Objectives and associate them with a category using the Growth OKRs spreadsheet template
3️⃣ Related Objectives, Values, Motivators (10 min)
Fill in the Values, and Motivators to ensure they align with your Objectives.
Template
Fill in the Objectives and associate them with a category using the Growth OKRs spreadsheet template
Pro Tip available
⭐ 5. Key Results
Now we’ve decide where we want to go, it’s time to think about how we’re going to get there.
Brainstorm Key Results by breaking down your Objectives (or refined goals) into quantifiable and achievable chunks.
1️⃣ Brainstorm Key Results (15 min)
Using each Objective, brainstorm at least 5 ideas for Key Results for achieving them.
Yet again, go for quantity NOT quality.
Key results must be quantifiable, achievable, lead to objective grading and be difficult, but not impossible.
Often they are numerical, but they can also show if something is done or undone, so a binary 0 or 1.
Pro Tip available
Pro Tip available
2️⃣ Refine into Key Results (15 min)
Rewrite and refine your Key Results.
No more than 3–5 per Objective.
Pro Tip available
Template
Fill in the Key Results and associate them with Objectives using the Growth OKRs spreadsheet template
⭐ 6. Choose your focus
It’s time to choose your focus and prioritise.
What are you going to work on in the next 6-12 months?
Let’s setup a method for tracking your progress that keeps you motivated.
1️⃣ Top 2-3 (5 min)
Choose 2–3 top priority Objectives that will be your focus.
1️⃣ Tracking Method (15 min)
These should be tracked daily, weekly, or monthly, depending on the key results.
Choose a tracking method that works for you. Popular methods include Trello, or something physical like a whiteboard.
Template
Track your progress using the Growth OKRs spreadsheet template
Here’s my 2019 Objectives (minus the Values and Motivators):
⭐ 7. Bonus: Roadmap
A bonus step…hooray!
1️⃣ Roadmap (10 min)
You might of noticed another tab named roadmap.
Roadmap tells you clearly: what needs doing, and when.
Use this simple format to allocate your attention to certain Key Results in a specific month.
Paste your Objectives and Key Results into the roadmap template.
Template
Fill in the roadmap using the Growth OKRs spreadsheet template
Pro Tip available
⭐ 8. Summary
This 6-step framework is born from experiments managing designers. Originally designed to solve two problem:
- Ensure people reach goals that really mean something to them
- Provide guidance, direction, and setting goals for individuals without really knowing them
Helping other with goal setting is just the first step to being a great manager.
Use this framework as a way to start the conversation and align your designers goals to company goals. Good luck!
This part of Senior Designer Bundle. Check out → https://uxplaybook.org/senior
