89 1. Define what you want to achieve (goals) Set two or three important goals per quarter. “The other key is that I only set two main goals per (three-month) cycle,” advises Dorie Clark in her 2016 Harvard Business Review article. The keyword here is “main” goals. Be strategic. 2. Identify what strengths you have to help you achieve your goals The use of a psychometric assessment such as the ones offered by Talent Plus will scientifical- ly identify the strengths a person brings to a specific role. Each Talent Plus assessment pro- vides feedback to the employee on their top strengths in the interview. We then direct the employee to create a Strength Development Plan that aligns their goals and action steps to their strengths to help achieve successful out- comes. 3. Pinpoint action steps you must take to achieve the goals As Christian Zandonella, General Manager, Ritz-Carlton, Vienna said, “It’s not an accom- plishment unless you can bullet point it.” That’s how we define an action step. In her Forbes 2014 article, Ashley Feinstein wrote about a 1979 Harvard MBA program where gradu- ate students were asked, “Have you set clear, written goals and made plans to accomplish them?” Only 3% of her students had written goals and plans (action steps). 10 years later, the same group was interviewed again and the result was absolutely mind-blow- ing. The 3% who had written goals (and plans) were earning, on average, 10 times as much as the other 97% of the class combined! Every leader and employee will benefit from making this process a habit. 4. Name who you need to collaborate with to achieve successful outcomes Find colleagues, mentors or managers who will collaborate with you to achieve your goals. As the renowned architect, John Portman said, “We all have aces and spaces.” Each of us has areas of strengths and weak- nesses. Identify individuals whom you admire and join forces to achieve successful results. 5. Specify what is measurable, rankable or ratable to verify the goals have been reached Choose an achievable timeframe to accom- plish your goals – 30, 60 or 90 days – as well as measurable details so you know exactly when you’ve achieved them. Break your goals into small actionable steps and assign realistic timeframes to each. These powerful Strength Development Plans provide a window into development that you as an employee can own and will allow you to control your destiny as you grow in your career. MANAGER If you are the manager of a team, don’t ne- gate the beneficial parts of the Strength Devel- opment Plan not only for yourself, but for the team you lead as well. Just as you are looking at your own development, your team is doing the same for themselves, giving you the platform to discuss their goals and dreams for their fu- ture. By enabling them to develop their own plans you are freeing up time to concentrate on how best to support them in those plans.