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It’s hard to believe but the end of 2019 is nearly upon us. Not only the end of the year, but the end of a decade (according to some). Regardless of your view on when the new decade actually begins, most of us can probably agree it’s sped by. Balancing the festivities with work commitments makes for a busy time, and it can be tricky to stop and reflect. Yet, grabbing a few precious moments to consider the year that will soon be behind us can be worthwhile - and set you up nicely for the new one ahead. What have been your career highlights - or lowlights - this year? Have you been promoted or side-stepped into something more interesting? Has a challenging year on the work front been the catalyst to make a change in 2020? Have you thought about your aspirations for next year already? What will you do differently? Once again, I have been very fortunate to be a guest writer for Harris Hill in 2019 and contribute articles for the blog on a range of diverse and interesting subjects. This year, as well as interviewing two successful and inspirational charity professionals, I covered a broad range of topics from rejection to pre-holiday handovers, stress to keeping things fresh at work as well as highlighting the best charity podcasts. I’m pleased to present a round of up of my articles, and offer some suggestions for your own aspirations and ambitions for the new decade (or the last year of this decade, whichever way you lean!). January 2019 - I Quit! How to Leave a Job Gracefully I kickstarted the new year by tackling the often painful and emotionally complex issue of leaving your job. I explored why people feel a wide range of emotions when resigning from a role - whether they’ve held the position for 12 weeks or 12 years, set out some clear advice on what you should and shouldn’t do to ensure a graceful departure and provided some insight into how someone I know masterfully retracted a resignation without any awkwardness or embarrassment. I also shared some horror stories of my own, including when leaving speeches go bad and when leaving dos go even worse (clue: it involves the helpful services of a St John’s Ambulance first aider). 2020 Career Aspiration: *I will make decisions based on what is best for my career, and execute them gracefully and professionally* February 2019 - Charity Careers: Andy Harris Harris Hill’s Charity Careers series features interviews with inspiring individuals and success stories from the charity sector. As the interviewer, I always feel privileged to gain an insight into the inner workings of the UK’s most successful charities and what makes the people that run them tick. This month, I chatted to Andy Harris, Director of Income Generation for Shelter UK and invited him to share his own individual career story to date, tell us about his 350-strong team and the invaluable work they to do to fundraise for Shelter’s work for the homeless or those who do not have a safe home. I learnt about Andy’s resistance to getting stuck in ‘cosy corner’, how he keeps his skills and knowledge fresh and why he may be eating fruit for breakfast, but really he’s dreaming of a fry up in a greasy spoon to fuel his busy day… 2020 Career Aspiration: *I will not get too comfortable in cosy corner; I will be inquisitive, take risks and strive to do more* March 2019 - How to Turn Rejection into a Success Story For March’s article, I focused on one of the most awkward and painful experiences that spans our professional, social and personal worlds - rejection. *Shudder*. I shared the five stages of rejection and ways to navigate through them and told courageous and motivating stories from those who may have been rebuffed, but had gone on to achieve much, much better things - something that may not have been possible without fate stepping in. I explored why rejection may be the right time to consider reinvention, and why a brush-off can actually provide the chance to try something new and clear the way for the right opportunity; allowing you to think creatively about your career path. 2020 Career Aspiration: *I will turn rejection on its head, and use it to fuel my career growth and purpose* April 2019 - How to Manage Stress at Work In April, to coincide with Stress Awareness Month, I faced head on some of the most pervasive but unwelcome players in the modern working game - stress, anxiety and burn out. Aiming to provide some guidance and support to those who were creaking under the weight of their to-do list, I highlighted the importance of paying attention to stress (described by a careers expert as ‘the business world’s silent killer) and considered stress in the current climate, finding that work-disrupting anxiety’ for Millennials was worryingly common. Via research and my own personal strategies for managing stress, I offered some advice to individuals and managers on moving from distress to de-stress at work - including working smarter not longer, not seeing rest breaks as ‘time away from work’ (and definitely not holding in a wee to finish one.more.thing) and the life-changing notion of saying NO. 2020 Career Aspiration: *I will recognise the signs of stress, seek guidance to manage it and prioritise my wellbeing* May 2019 - Charity Careers: James Harris In the second Charity Careers interview of 2019, we met James Harris, Associate Director of Communications, Marketing and Membership for Rethink Mental Illness. James gave us a fascinating insight into his career to date including how he fell out of love with politics (and they’re still not talking) and moved on to the third sector, why it’s a privilege to have a job where you get to bring about change on the issues you care about and why he looks inwardly to his own team to keep his skills fresh. James provided some great advice to graduates about being useful, creative and ready to deliver and made us envious that his dream breakfast is his actual breakfast. He also nearly converted me to a certain East London football team as part of his one-person evangelical mission. (Nearly. #cpfc) 2020 Career Aspiration: *I will try to be useful and creative and always deliver on something I’ve committed to* June 2019 - How to Switch Off Around mid-year, things were feeling rather busy and I realised I had a tendency to be ‘always on’. Fascinated, if not a little concerned, about our general inability to disengage from our jobs out of hours, or our phones pretty much all of the time, I explored why it was imperative for our health, productivity and wellbeing to not always be working. I reached out to others who found it difficult to unplug (the results were quite shocking), investigated the dangers to our health of the ‘always on’ mentality and offered some tips on how to switch off and reframe how, and why, you work the way you do. 2020 Career Aspiration: *I will aim to find a balance and focus on my professional accomplishments without comprising my mental wellbeing * July 2019 - How to Nail the Holiday Handover This month, my thoughts turned to going on a summer holiday and… the intense fortnight of frenzied preparation that often comes before a well deserved break. For those who also find it overwhelming to leave the office for a week or two, I was on hand to offer some advice on slick communication, creating the perfect handover note and why success is all in the planning. I warned against using a comedy OOO to get a LOL and also gave out some survival tips for anyone who was NOT going on holiday, but holding the fort instead. The result? Readers could swap desk-sandwiches for something delicious al fresco, lose themselves in a good book rather than a report and be safe in the knowledge that everything was in hand. 2020 Career Aspiration: *I will execute a successful holiday handover and keep my credibility, peace of mind and work relationships intact (and have a terrific break)* August 2019 - How to Negotiate a Pay Rise in the Charity Sector Harris Hill released its 2019 Salary Report, the 14th annual survey and definitive guide to salaries in the UK Charity Sector, in collaboration with CharityJob. It got me thinking about people in the sector who might be feeling a little short-changed after reading the fascinating results, and why asking for a salary increase in the charity world can be uniquely awkward. I set out to tackle this tricky dilemma by exploring the issues that comes with asking for more money (guilt, discomfort, modesty) and why feeling undervalued actually helps no-one in the long run. I helped you do your homework and prepare for the request; helping you determine your market value, drawing up a solid case for a pay review and how to ensure the meeting (gulp) runs smoothly - with a successful outcome. 2020 Career Aspiration: *I will not put-off a terrifying money talk and focus instead on my career progression and full earning potential long-term* September 2019 - How to Keep Things Fresh at Work Are you one of the 26% of Brits who are almost never happy at work? In September, I reached out to the Harris Hill blog readers who may have been feeling their work had got a little stale and in need a shake up. I considered how starting a new job can be a bit like a new relationship (who isn’t tempted by the alluring ‘attraction phase’ of job hunting and networking) and why it’s easy to slide into the disappointment stage (the ‘what have I done, I want to go back to my ex-job!’ panic when you’re confirmed in post). With in-depth, research-backed advice on how to spice up your work, look inward to your lovely colleagues and speak up if you need extra motivation as well as quick-fire tips including podcasts, desk spring cleans and jazzing up your work wardrobe, I aimed to help people move from disgruntled to delighted. 2020 Career Ambition: *If things feel stale at work, I will work stop, reflect and diagnose the issue rather than letting my discontentment intensify * October 2019 - How to Set Goals (And Stick to Them in Style) This month I turned my thoughts to goals (not just from a football perspective, although England were well on their way to qualifying for Euro 2020) and it was quite hard not to. In 2019, goals invaded social media (food, fitness, life, relationships etc) and seemed to be everywhere. There were even #beardgoals. Although most of us might be familiar with goal setting, I was keen to expand on this. So I considered not only why goals were important in our careers, but how to avoid getting too tangled up in the pursuit of them. I pushed the benefits of writing your goals down, backed up by university research, and also got a bit arty on you by reaching out to some ‘bullet journallers’ who had some creative inspiration to goal setting. I also asked an established career and business coach for some invaluable tips for smashing your #careergoals in no time at all. 2020 Career Aspiration: *I will take a meaningful, creative and structured approach to goal setting - and write my goals down* November 2019 – Podcast your way to workplace wellbeing Lastly, in November, the weather got chillier and the weeks got more frantic in the lead up to Christmas. So, I popped on my headphones and considered the benefits of the charity podcast to satisfy our curious, but frazzled, minds during busy periods and to aid our mental wellbeing and learning and development. With the help of experts at Harris Hill, I trawled through the varied and sometimes overcrowded podcast ecosystem and recommended a selection of useful charity podcasts - as well as some non-charity ones. Podcasts can help you discover new topics or trends, get away from your desk and are a multitasker’s dream - you can cook, file or even run at the same time as listening. So what are you waiting for? 2020 Career Aspiration: *I will consider the benefits of digital learning and have fun selecting the right podcast for me* It’s been an absolute pleasure writing for Harris Hill this year and I hope my articles have helped and inspired you in some way. Wishing you all a happy, healthy and successful 2020 and all the best for the festive season. Nicola x Contact Nicola, check out her snazzy website, or follow her on Twitter.

They’ve invaded social media, attached themselves to everything from food and fitness to life itself, and even the nation’s footballers seem to have rediscovered them (sometimes). Yes, goals are definitely in, but how do you set them and more importantly, stick to them? Tackling the question is our guest blogger, freelance writer and HR specialist Nicola Greenbrook, who's here with some helpful advice... Goals, goals everywhere. There are #relationshipgoals, #lifegoals, #couplegoals, #entrepreneurgoals. Even #deskgoals and #beardgoals. At the time of writing this article, 80 million Instagram posts are tagged with #goals and 733,000 with #careergoals. That's a lot of goals. Many of us should be familiar with goal-setting in our working lives; from early objectives set during probation to the agreement of individual and development targets at appraisal. Outside of work, smartphones and activity trackers such as the Fitbit help us to stay motivated and improve our health. Yet with the pressure to set, commit to and smash our life and career goals, it's no wonder goal setting can feel a little overwhelming at times, and why even the SMARTest and well-intended targets often fall by the wayside. In this month’s article, I’m considering why goals are important, how to avoid getting too tangled up in the pursuit of them and recommending ways to set and stick to your objectives with a little artistic support. First, the theory Social media may encourage us to live our best lives, practice self-improvement and aspire to other people’s intentions, but goal setting is not new. In 1968, American psychologist Dr. Edwin A. Locke pioneered goal-setting theory in his groundbreaking article 'Toward a theory of task motivation and incentives’, and together with Dr. Gary Latham, jointly established the positive relationship between clearly identified goals and performance. According to the 2016 CIPD technical report ‘Rapid evidence assessment of the research literature on the effect of goal setting on workplace performance’, goals affect performance through four causal mechanisms (Latham 2004) that are relevant at work; which include: ► Serving a direction function, so our attention and effort is drawn to goal-relevant activities, rather than irrelevant ones (Twitter etc). ► An energising purpose; harder goals require more effort and hard graft than easy ones that, although satisfying to cross off the list or feel pleased about in your appraisal, only come with a short-term satisfaction. ► If we have goals in place, they allow us to discover and/or use task-relevant knowledge and strategies; which makes us not only a clever clogs, but increases the odds for success (Locke and Latham 2002). In summary, goals serve an important purpose. But what happens when goals go rogue? The downside of goal pursuit Are you an overachiever? Do you get a buzz from setting numerous goals and a rush of satisfaction when you achieve them? Or do you feel unfulfilled rather than accomplished? Have you become a bit obsessed by your targets? Always on the hunt for something bigger and better to strive for, focusing less on intrinsic value and more on external rewards and internal or social comparison? You’re not alone. A fixation on goals can be counterproductive and lead to poor decision making if we become too emotionally attached to ambitious goals at work. A single-minded pursuit can prevent us from learning from problems along the way and considering alternatives or lead us to make terrible decisions - all in the relentless quest of reaching our target and 'ticking it off'. In ‘Destructive Goal Pursuit - The Mt Everest Disaster’, business professor D. Christopher Kayes draws upon real-life stories, including the 1996 Mount Everest climbing disaster where eight people died near the summit. He argues that the climbers were so focused on the attainment of their goal that it caused them to overlook serious problems along the way - such as decreased oxygen and bottlenecks. He coined the term ‘goalodicy’; the obsessive pursuit of goals to the point of self-destruction. Whether planning an extreme expedition or preparing an annual report, it's easy to get a bit caught up in our own form of goalodicy. A useful strategy is to approach your goals meaningfully, examine the process more closely and ask yourself why you’re doing it - rather than ruthlessly conquering a target and immediately focusing on the next one. Goal setting can be daunting, so breaking your main target up into smaller ones can be an effective way of making the process seems less terrifying. Put pen to paper If you find yourself (and your goals) a little out of control, there are ways to regain the drive and motivation. Sometimes, simply writing them down can be a fast track to achievement. Speaking to Stylist magazine, Debbie Wosskow, entrepreneur and co-founder of The Allbright, a London networking club for women in business, says that she clearly writes down her personal and business goals in a notebook every New Year’s Eve. This allows her to check progress, review whether the goal is important and still relevant and stay on track. Meanwhile a recent study from Dominican University found that people who scribbled down their goals and kept track of their progress at least once a week accomplished significantly more than those who didn’t. Or go one further: bujo! Bullet journalling - or 'bujo' - is a great way to get your goals down on paper, release your creative side and build in some self-care too. It's essentially a notebook-organisation system and artfully annotated to-do list which promises to help you achieve your goals and declutter your mind. Devotees of the practice have also added a creative and performative aspect to bullet journalling by adding hand-drawn illustrations and decorative spreads. Bullet journalling not only helps create a structure and a plan and stick to it, it can be calming and meditative too - a bit like using an adult colouring book. Helen Colebrook is an HR consultant from Devon and creator of the popular @JournalWithPurpose. She started using journals around four years ago and believes it can be inspiring and motivating to see how others manage their time. Whilst Helen admits that it can take a little more time than a usual to-do list, and it is of course important to carefully balance planning with the actual delivery at work, she also believes it encourages better time management and reflection. A bullet journal has been proven to be more than just a pretty list; according to Forbes, vividly describing your goals in written form is strongly associated with goal success, and people who very vividly describe or picture their goals are anywhere from 1.2 to 1.4 times more likely to successfully accomplish their goals than people who don’t. I recently attended a business network event and observed many of the participants already successfully ‘bujo-ing’ and reaping the benefits when it came to goal attainment. (I felt rather pedestrian with a plain notebook full of unruly Post-Its and enthusiastic scribbles). 'Bujo': far less rude than it sounds, and not just for people with too much time on their hands And finally… Career and business coach, Nathalina Harrison has some great takeaway tips on goal setting: ► The practice of goal setting is not a waste of time, or a distraction from your 'real work’. If you don't know what you are trying to achieve in detail, how can you expect to get there? Schedule in time to do it too or it might never get done. ► Annual and quarterly goals are a good place to start to make the process feel more manageable ► If you find you’re not achieving your goals, don’t beat yourself up about it. It could be time to revisit, reflect and review at the end of the month/quarter and have a good think about why. Did you over-schedule? Are you up to your eyes in it with other stuff? Could it be that, deep down, you may not care about the goal or believe in it? Discuss it with your manager and consider letting it go... ► Set yourself a dream goal; one that gets you really excited and motivated. Then let your other goals service this one. ................... With a meaningful, flexible and creative approach to goal setting - written down of course - you’ll be smashing your #careergoals in no time at all. Nicola Greenbrook - HR Specialist & Freelance Writer Contact Nicola, check out her brand new website, or follow her on Twitter. More from Nicola Greenbrook: ► Charity Careers 4: meet James Harris of Rethink Mental Illness ► How to keep things fresh at work ► How to negotiate a pay rise in the charity sector Don't miss the Harris Hill & CharityJob 2019 Salary Report...the essential guide to UK charity salaries. With market insights from our sector specialists and the expert team at CharityJob, you'll find more than 350 current rates for roles in 26 job functions, based on over 45,000 recent charity vacancies. More from the blog:

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