Coaching practices for Self Concordant Goals at Work

Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For Self Concordant Goals at Work, these are the strongest matches in the current practice library.

Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?

  • This used to be something I wanted, but ever since my boss started tracking it and someone’s always checking in, it’s curdled into a chore I do for them
  • The moment a goal gets hard I lose all sense of why I’m even doing it
  • Every time I set goals they end up being what I think I’m supposed to want
  • I finally hit the thing I’d been grinding toward and the satisfaction lasted about an hour before I was already onto the next target
  • I’m years into chasing something I committed to as a different version of myself, and it doesn’t fit who I am now

Practices that may help

  1. Self-Concordant Goals, Made Practical
    Self-concordant goals, from Kennon Sheldon, are goals you pursue because they express who you genuinely are or what truly interests you — not because of guilt, social pressure, or external reward. Research finds that self-concordant goals are pursued with more sustained effort and produce greater well-being when achieved, even when the objective difficulty is held constant.
  2. Protect your sense of autonomy while pursuing the goal
    Keep the goal yours even when a coach, boss, or partner is involved in it.
    Self-Concordant Goals, Made Practical
  3. Anchor each goal to a named, personal value
    Make the goal an expression of a specific value so it stays motivating when difficulty peaks.
    Self-Concordant Goals, Made Practical
  4. Excavate core values before writing goals
    Identify what you most fundamentally care about before deciding what you want — or goals will be other people’s.
    The Life Crafting Intervention: Scripting Your Future Self
  5. Celebrate growth, not just goal attainment
    Recognize progress in who you are becoming, not only whether you hit the number.
    Self-Concordant Goals, Made Practical
  6. Review goal-self fit at regular intervals
    As you grow, some formerly self-concordant goals become misaligned — review them deliberately.
    Self-Concordant Goals, Made Practical
  7. One-minute goals: write them short enough to re-read in a minute
    A goal that cannot be stated on a single page is too vague to be evaluated or acted on.
    The One Minute Manager: Three Practices That Still Work
  8. Audit why you are pursuing each goal
    Check whether each goal is driven by interest and values or by guilt and external pressure.
    Self-Concordant Goals, Made Practical
  9. Distinguish genuine interest from performed interest
    Separate goals you are genuinely curious about from ones you believe you should be curious about.
    Self-Concordant Goals, Made Practical
  10. Learn what each person actually wants from their career and life
    Care personally means knowing the goal behind the job — not just what they’re working on, but why.
    Caring Personally: The Foundation of Radical Candor

Related concerns

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