September 1stIn all of my former companies, September 1st marked the beginning of a new fiscal year. I never thought much about it until the year I set a goal of getting promoted. Instead of making the yearly New Year’s resolutions, I decided to align my personal fiscal year to that of my company.

In a way, it makes sense for all of us to do this.  Most of us, on average, spend more time at work than on any other activity, including sleep. Think of it as an opportunity to engage in more than just your current role. It allows you to take a wider view of your life and career goals.

I’ve always been goal oriented and this process allowed me to focus on what was important to me. I established three areas on which to concentrate: Relationships, Self-Development, and New Experiences.  Next, I determined my goals in each of these areas.

 

RELATIONSHIPS

My relationships focus on a wide range of ways to stay connected.

 

Family

I have a small family that is very close. I’m the black sheep since I’m the only one that moved away. My family is very important to me and that’s why it is at the top of the list. I also have an extended family. I am the Godfather to 3 wonderful boys – now young men. It is very important to me that I play an active role in their lives.

 

Reduce Reuse Recycle

You may think this one sounds a little strange.  Maybe it is and it helps keep me grounded by reminding me that it’s not all about me. I’m one of 7+ billion people on the planet and I have a responsibility to take care of it.

I carefully consider what I purchase. I actively recycle and compost – yes even in New York City that is possible!  I also reuse, repurpose, or donate items to others who can benefit from it.  When I travel for work, I take a tumbler and cloth napkin so that I don’t have to use paper products. When I am unable to recycle items at an office or other location, I’ll bring them home so that I they make it into the recycling process.  Packing peanuts are donated to local packing/shipping companies and hangers go back to the dry cleaners – most of my clothing is washable and non-iron so I can avoid the dry cleaners for the most part.  There are many little things you can do to make a difference. Even doing all of these things, I know I still account for a large footprint so I’m continually working on doing better.

 

Establishing and building relationships

Making new contacts and deepening connections provides me with learning opportunities as well as a way to provide value to others. I didn’t realize the importance of actively cultivating relationships even though I am a relationship-based manager. I now try to take an intentional instead of a passive approach.

 

Engage on social media

One way to be intentional in establishing and building relationships is through the use of social media.  Again, I was late to the game. Now embrace social media.  Facebook lets me stay up-to-date with friends and family. I established a blog focused on employee engagement as a way to engage with like-minded colleagues. I use my personal and blog Twitter accounts to disseminate helpful information. And, of course, there is LinkedIn. I use this site to build professional relationships.

 

Giving back

When I think about relationships, I’m reminded of Adam Grant’s book, “Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success.” To me, giving to others is important, whether it be time, knowledge, or money.  I like helping others and have a particular love of engaging people as you probably know. Onboarding is a crucial aspect of groups and companies and I tend to focus my giving efforts on those situations.  That ranges from welcoming new students to Emory University, mentoring, teaching classes to help others learn about/develop skills, etc.

 

 

SELF-DEVELOPMENT

I wish more people would make time to develop themselves. I know many people think that their company should is responsible for their development. While I would take advantage of any company development activities, I think each individual should outline a development plan for themselves. The more I understand myself, the better friend, family member, person, and manager I can be.

 

Self Awareness

As a manager, I want to understand how I’m perceived and want to become even more effective in my interactions.  To accomplish this, I take and review various assessments to learn about my strengths/weaknesses, approaches, etc. and then look for ways to make improvements Oddly enough, I stumbled across mediation two years ago. While not as consistent as I would like, I’ve found that it has provided me with stress-reduction techniques and allows me to sleep better among other benefits.

 

Reading

For as long as I can remember, I have set a yearly goal of reading at least 12 books.  Last year, I read 37.  This year, I’m now working on book 15. There were years where I was too focused on work and, as a result, read only a few books. Normally, I read only non-fiction books. I rationalize that if I’m going to invest time in reading, I want to be able to learn something—I’ll admit that the J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter Series was the exception. And to keep with my Reduce, Reuse, Recycle goal, I frequent the library and second hand booksellers as well as download e-books.  (Click here for my 2013 Reading List and 2014 Reading List.)

 

Learning

As I mentioned above, learning is important to me. I’ve discovered many options: webinars, Twitter chats, online courses available through Coursera/Udemy, conferences, etc. You have to commit time and sometimes money to achieve this goal so plan ahead.

 

Engage with the Arts

Learning takes another form with the arts. I attend Broadway shows, visit museums and public art installations, etc. when possible. Again, there is a time and money commitment for which you must plan.

 

 

NEW EXPERIENCES

Each year, I find there are new and exciting things that I want to experience. Last year, I attended my first EDM festival. Yes, I was a novelty. The electronic dance music community isn’t used to seeing…let’s say, more mature…people like me at these events. Annoyingly, they kept calling me sir. However, I found the music invigorating and I was fascinated by how the DJs were able to capture the attention of the audience through music.

2013 also allowed me to spend some of my summer becoming a mosaic artist. Having traveled to many great cities, the mosaics I saw always intrigued me. It was energizing to be part of a mosaic project and learn from a world–renowned mosaic artist.

This year, I’m learning to code.  So far I’ve refreshed my HTML skills and learned more about CSS. It is exciting and I hope to be able to leverage what I learn to tweak my blog and personal websites.  For my second endeavor, I committed to re-visiting French. Having taken the language in high school and college, I’m amazed at how much I remember and humbled by all I have yet to learn. Finally, I am continuing my exploration of gamification after earning certifications last year.

Try something that excites you. You are never too young or too old.

 

That’s my Personal Fiscal Year Plan. I encourage you to determine your own. Work can become all-consuming. Start engaging in your life and career instead of just focusing on your current role.

 

What do you think about a Personal Fiscal Year Plan? How do you or would you group your fiscal year goals?

 

 

P.S.  First time here? Welcome to the Agent In Engagement site. Thanksfor taking the time to stop by!  I hope you’ll explore the rest of the site.Let me know what employee engagement topics interest you.

Other recent Agent in Engagement articles by Gregory F Simpson:

 

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I’m Agent in Engagement Simpson…Gregory F Simpson.

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