Wow! 2016 came and went. Fast. For instance I had planned for this article to go up in December. Ooops! But it’s not just me.
A new client told me they had all these plans for the year, and he woke up some time in December wondering what had happened. He planned on making Aboriginal employment a priority, but it got pushed for other ‘priorities’. Other matters just seemed more pressing. All year. His plans slipped his mind, and he realised that nothing had changed despite his best intentions. He told me he didn’t want this to happen again this year.
I hear this time and again from new clients. The best of intentions go nowhere without a solid plan and action. Now, I’d argue that more often than not, it’s because we aren’t clear about 3 things: the change we want, where we really are now, and what is stopping us from getting what we want. It was certainly true in his case.
Not knowing these things is like trying to plan a trip without a destination, or a starting point, or mode of transport in mind!
You may have a good time this way, but you’re unlikely to end up where you want. It only works if you’re not tied to a destination or an outcome. And, that’s fine, but you very well may end up someplace you really don’t want to be. Know what I mean?
The clearer you are about these three things, the easier it is to make a plan to get you where you want to be.
So this year, right now in fact, I’m going to encourage you to take 10 minutes to get clear about your Aboriginal employment journey for 2017. Because if nothing changes, nothing changes. Right?
I’m also giving you an opportunity to download the very same worksheet I use with my clients in The Fast Track. You can download The Results-Reality-Roadblocks Worksheet by clicking the button below. This worksheet works for just about everything (I use it before business planning and my triathlon training).
You can use it to work through the 3 crucial questions I quickly outlined earlier. In case you missed it, here they are again:
1. What do you want to achieve? What RESULTS do you want?
2. Where are you right now? What is your REALITY?
3. What’s stopping you from getting there? What are the ROADBLOCKS?
On the flip side, the clearer you are about these 3 things, the easier it is to make a plan that will work. And what’s plan that doesn’t work worth? Absolutely nothing.
Okay, did you download the worksheet? Check your inbox. Your junk folder? Here’s how to use it.
1. Results - Let’s start in the far right-hand column. Imagine 3 years have passed.
What have you achieved in Aboriginal employment? How are things now? What are the results you need for you to be happy with your progress?
How many Aboriginal staff do you have? What proportion of your staff are Aboriginal? How long have they been with your organisation? What policies are in place?
What systems and structures do you have in place to support your Aboriginal staff? To recruit new Aboriginal staff?
Describe the workplace? Does it support your Aboriginal staff? How? Does it support your goals for Aboriginal employment? Have your staff completed Aboriginal cultural awareness? How many?
What’s your reputation like in your local Aboriginal communities? Good? Excellent? What community events do you participate in? Forums? Celebrations?
Do you deliver services to Aboriginal communities? Are they going well? Do you want to?
What else would you want in place?
2. Reality - Now, come back to now. Let’s fill out the left-hand column. What is the current situation?
It’s important to be honest here, brutally honest if need be. Don’t sell yourself short, though. Give yourself partial or even full credit where you deserve it, but take off the rose-coloured glasses. If you had everything in place for Aboriginal employment to succeed, you wouldn’t be doing this exercise. So what is it really like?
Ask yourself the very same questions you just did in the Results section. How are each of these things right now?
How many Aboriginal staff do you have? What proportion of your staff are Aboriginal? How long have they been with your organisation? What policies are in place?
What systems and structures do you have in place to support your Aboriginal staff? To recruit new Aboriginal staff?
Describe the workplace? Does it support your Aboriginal staff? How? Does it support your goals for Aboriginal employment? Have your staff completed Aboriginal cultural awareness? How many?
What’s your reputation like in your local Aboriginal communities? Good? Excellent? What community events do you participate in? Forums? Celebrations?
Services to Aboriginal communities going well?
Anything else?
3. Roadblocks - And finally, what are the things that are stopping you? This is where you complete the middle column.
What’s slowing you down? Getting in your way? Making it hard?
Is this a priority for everybody who it needs to be?
Is there a lack of internal support? Are the benefits of success clear?
Do you have the resources you need?
Do you know what will give you ‘bang for buck’?
Are you struggling to find Aboriginal candidates?
Are you struggling to keep them?
What else is holding you back?
The clearer you are about these things, the easier it is to formulate a plan to get you where you want to be. You can assign priorities, come up with ideas that will work. So I hope you took the 10-15 minutes now. It will make achieving your Aboriginal employment goals this year so much easier.
Tell me, what do you want to achieve this year, and what's your biggest roadblock?
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