Striking the balance: set the right personal and professional goals
Finding the right equilibrium between professional responsibilities and personal well-being is crucial in our fast-paced and demanding work environments. Setting goals for your year should not just include what you want to achieve in the office. As you set your goals you should also consider how you can grow professionally while also sustaining happiness, productivity, and overall satisfaction in life.
At Maliasili, we understand the significance of having personal goals alongside our work objectives, recognizing their equal importance. As we kick off the first Reader of 2024, we're excited to share examples of these goals with you, aiming to inspire and encourage you to contemplate your own personal and professional aspirations! Some goals may be whimsical, others highly ambitious, and some simply easy and fun. We hope you find some inspiration in these examples as you think about your own goals for 2024.
We asked some of our Maliasili team members to share examples of personal and professional goals they’ve set for themselves... Here is what they had to say.
Professional Development
Finding ways to challenge yourself and grow your skills on the job.
Making the complex simple →
An important goal I had last year was to distill and communicate complex financial information and scenarios clearly, incorporating uncertainties and possibilities. - Janelle, US
Effective communication isn’t just for the communications team… Financial management is complex and sometimes making sure board and team members have actionable and accessible information is a challenge. Last year, one of my goals as Maliasili’s Chief Finance Officer was to find a way to do this succinctly and in a format that helps people recognize patterns that make sense to them. After multiple versions of the “financial key metrics” table, my supervisor suggested I draw how I think about our financial information. Her suggestion was what I needed, and I ended up developing a monthly financial dashboard that featured 6-7 financial metrics. It was a big hit, and we continue to improve upon it to make sure the data is relevant and fit for purpose.
Being intentional about leadership →
One goal that is so critical to me this year is to nurture and lean on my support system to be a better leader as I take on a new role. - Omagano, Namibia
Leadership growth is ongoing… I've taken on a new role within the Maliasili team as the Deputy Director for our Southern African portfolio. To succeed in my position, every coach or mentor I've spoken to asks about my support system and how I keep that system ‘alive.’ Having people you can lean on and be vulnerable with, especially when undergoing change is vital, and I realize it's an aspect of my life where I've become complacent. Therefore, my goal for this year is to communicate more frequently with the diverse individuals who renew, motivate, and inspire me, both professionally and personally, so I can be a better leader in my new role.
Building a team →
Last year, I set out to build a competent, passionate and capable team in Tanzania to deliver high quality work for our existing and new partners. - Njenga, Kenya
Over the years, our network of partners in Tanzania has steadily expanded. To ensure effective support for our Tanzanian partners, we recognized the need to expand our team by finding individuals with crucial local knowledge, expertise, and a deep understanding of Tanzanian organizations. This goal I can proudly say has been achieved, with new hires now leading exciting work across the portfolio. Stay tuned!
Finding confidence in financial management →
Strong organizations depend on strong financial management systems, and that means everyone on a team - myself included - must be diligent, accountable, and involved. My goal last year was to gain confidence in this area. - Jessie, Tanzania
Running a great communications department requires an awesome team, creative ideas, and resources. And those resources - like money - need to be budgeted, tracked, and accounted for. As our work has grown, so has our budget, which has created new levels of complexity for the team and me. I needed to learn more about our finance systems, budgeting, and accounting so I could have the confidence to manage our growing demands effectively. I asked my colleagues from the Finance Department to help build my skills for increased fluency in financial management through regular meetings and coaching and real-life troubleshooting. It worked!
Enhancing my language skills →
Language has the power to unite… but also the power to exclude and divide. As Maliasili grows and works in areas where English is not the first adopted language, it becomes increasingly important for us to be able to communicate, facilitate - at the very least say hello - in the languages that feel like home for people. My goal last year was to rejuvenate the dusty areas in my brain and reconnect with my love for languages, especially French and Spanish, in a bid to better deliver my assignments. - Salisha, Kenya
As I looked at the potential work for the year, it became clear - I would not only need to brush up on my Spanish but also dig up any remnants of French that may have remained from my 'O' level days. And it had to be at a level where I could understand and read what was happening in the room without an interpreter or a third party distilling or offering their interpretation. I needed to be vulnerable and practice, read, and build the confidence to engage. So I decided to read documents and emails in French or Spanish first, before translating them, to see what I had understood and missed. I asked interpreters or colleagues at meetings who are bilingual - not to interpret but to confirm or correct my interpretation of what was being said. My confidence grew, and continues to grow with each meeting. This has enabled me to read the room and move conversations forward appropriately. This year, I plan to further strengthen these language skills and communicate even more confidently.
Lifting up the next generation →
One of my key roles is to connect Maliasili and our partners to skilled and qualified young talent by strengthening and enhancing the internship program. Last year, I set out to link 10 interns with our team and partners, and create meaningful experiences for both the organizations and interns. - Richard, Kenya
I have always been interested in developing and promoting young talent. Maliasili’s internship program is one that connects me with such people - those with the energy, motivation, ambition, and aspirations to do great things. The conservation field could do with more young people, who often don’t get the chance to prove themselves. Having interns working with our partners and team creates many learning opportunities for all involved. Last year, I succeeded in my goal to bring on 10 interns who benefitted from hands-on experience, mentorship, and exposure to real-world projects. It's a great connection for these young people, and a reminder of how critical this stage is for whichever career one chooses. They also keep me on my toes!
Personal Growth
Setting personal goals helps you think about your whole self for the year ahead, and sharing it with your supervisor or your team helps you stay accountable to a part of you that really matters.
Finding balance →
Continue with my meditation and yoga practices to help stay grounded given all the travel ahead. - Jo, Mozambique
Our work at Maliasili involves a lot of travel and facilitation and requires directing a lot of energy outwards. Although I love both things, I realized how important it is to dedicate time to bring the focus back inward. For the past two years, I have made it a personal goal to practice meditation and yoga daily, even if I can only squeeze 10 minutes in. This has enhanced my overall well-being and proven instrumental in maintaining balance amidst the demands of our dynamic work environment.
Scaling new heights →
Climbing a “14-er” (a category of mountain in Colorado, US, that is at least 4,267 meters tall). - Janelle, US
To celebrate my 50th birthday in 2023, I set a personal goal to climb a 14-er. I am not an athlete, by any means, and the pandemic had really dampened my fitness efforts. Setting this goal was about trying something new while also helping me to re-establish my fitness routine that had suffered over the past few years. I started working out to build strength and endurance, and was so pleased to finally hike the mountain in September. Throughout the process, I learned so much about myself - that I’m stronger than I thought, and I love hiking (although, I don’t like hiking at that altitude!) This year, my goal is to complete a 10-mile (16 km) hike with my siblings.
Fighting for what’s right →
I have a goal to establish myself as a thought-leader on grassroots organizing for better environmental governance and environmental justice. - Akshay, Kenya
Environmental and social justice issues have always been close to my heart, and I've actively participated in advocacy and campaigning throughout most of my career. Along this journey, I've learned numerous lessons and developed many ideas on how advocacy in Kenya can become more effective. However, these insights are of no use if not shared and acted upon. Therefore, I set a personal goal last year to publish opinion pieces more regularly as a means to share my thoughts and ideas, fostering public conversations around these critical issues. Hopefully, this effort leads to some impact!
Finding my passion →
Five years ago, I had a goal to broaden my horizons and discover a career field that motivated, challenged, and gave me a sense of purpose. - Cathy, Tanzania
I’ve always been interested in environmental work, and in 2019, I took a risk to pursue this passion. I made an unexpected career change and relocated to a wildlife-rich area of Tanzania to learn about conservation, and immerse myself in new and unfamiliar experiences. Many around me thought I was making an irrational choice and a drastic career change, and my parents were understandably concerned. Despite initial skepticism, I embraced this transformative journey, learning about an entirely new field, and interacting with a different culture. Initially focused on sustainable enterprise development, I not only learned about critical conservation and environmental work, but also unexpectedly gained skills in communications and photography. This marked just the beginning of an exciting journey!
A literary revival…
Read at least six books this year. - Ellen, Tanzania
I loved reading growing up; it was my favorite thing to do! I plan to revive that part of my life this year by reading at least six fictional books. I want to live vicariously through exciting characters and be inspired by great stories, storytellers, and places. Reading creates opportunities for self-discovery and exploration, and builds our imagination.
Mentorship matters →
I want to find opportunities to nurture the skills of communications leads working in conservation. - Wanjiku, Kenya
My goal to mentor others working in conservation communications is inspired by my own journey. Throughout my 12-year career, I've acquired valuable insights through the generosity of mentors, colleagues, and friends who freely shared their experiences and knowledge. This year, I'm excited to embrace the role of a mentor myself, drawing inspiration from the collective wisdom that has shaped my professional path.
Seeing the world →
I have a goal to embrace travel more, locally and internationally. - Lulu, Tanzania
I wasn’t much of a traveler before COVID nor did I envy world travelers. I felt like the process of planning trips and getting a visa with a low global mobility passport was a hassle I didn’t want to deal with. So I turned down many exciting trips! But last year, I shifted my thinking, and decided to go through the process of traveling to Germany for Christmas, and I’m glad I did. It was a wonderful, enlightening and fun experience which has ignited the desire to travel more. I’m currently enjoying traveling within my beautiful country of Tanzania, and hope to explore more African countries this year.
Additional Resources
For more on goal setting, here is a past Reader with a toolkit to help you and your team set your annual goals.