Ep 75 – Quarterly Planning & Review – A Career Game Changer

Hello, and welcome to this week's episode.

2

If you are listening, as this

episode is released, then it is the

3

which has gone alarmingly quickly.

4

But what we wanted to do was to share

a process that we use individually

5

for ourselves within our own

business, but also that we use with

6

clients, which is around quarterly

reflection and future planning.

7

So this is something that probably

for me, just became a bit of a habit

8

towards the end of my employed career.

9

And it's something that I know that

I could have been far more effective

10

if I'd learned some of these skills

earlier on, hence why we wanted to

11

share it and encourage you to consider

how it might be able to help you.

12

So Pam quarterly planning, then why.

13

Is that a thing?

14

Why is it that we chose to

pick this for the podcast?

15

Pam: So we chose it.

16

I feel like we chose it because

it is something that we

17

find so useful to start with.

18

Like we really find it useful

and it really helps us drive

19

our businesses forward.

20

And when we use it with clients, we

can really see how it helps drive

21

their careers forward and their

effectiveness within their roles as well.

22

So one of the things that comes up

often with quarterly planning and

23

reviews is that most of our objectives

generally set once a year, aren't they?

24

In the corporate worlds, we do that, that

annual objective setting and planning.

25

It gets filed away.

26

And then we don't come back to it.

27

Oh, actually that's probably not

the best way to to talk about that

28

because we do come back to them.

29

But usually when there's about

one week to go to, to review or,

30

a couple of weeks to go until

they're going to be reviewed again.

31

And we come back to them and we

go, Oh my goodness, I missed that.

32

I forgot about that.

33

Did that, but not quite in that context.

34

So doing it quarterly.

35

I feel like makes all the

difference because you can

36

review what's ahead of you.

37

You can review what you need to do

immediately, and you can look at the

38

long term goals and make sure that they

still align with the business goals.

39

And also, when you're looking at

your own personal development with

40

your longer term goals as well.

41

So it just makes sense to do it on a

quarterly basis so that you checking

42

in with yourself, with, maybe with the

rest of the business to make sure that

43

the annual objectives are really still

the things that you need to deliver.

44

And then if you need to change the plan,

if you need to change direction, you

45

can do that and it's absolutely fine.

46

And you're doing that with intention.

47

Jacqui: That intention is so important.

48

And this really links into our whole

strapline of take ownership of your

49

career, being in a situation where

you have those annual objectives.

50

I was smiling as you were describing it.

51

I was like, Oh, that's taken me back

to literally pulling out my objectives

52

document and going, Oh, okay.

53

And I think the other thing, if you

don't create some structure around

54

shorter range reflection and planning.

55

Then what often happens for my

clients, certainly it did for

56

me in my employee career is.

57

You end up with additional things

that aren't on your annual objectives

58

that become quite big projects or

quite big uses of your time, energy,

59

and resources, whether that's

individually for you or for your team.

60

And those things sometimes get

missed because they might not be

61

on the annual objectives document.

62

And sometimes it's about reassessing,

like you say, Do the shorter term things

63

that we're engaged with, me, myself, and

also a team that I might be leading, are

64

those still the most important things?

65

Are they contributing

to my annual objectives?

66

And if the things that feel more

important or that I've been guided

67

to say are more important for me to

deliver in the shorter term, then

68

those potentially need to be reflected.

69

And it may be that things need to come

off so that you don't run the risk of

70

getting to that two weeks before your

annual appraisal and realizing that

71

it looks like you haven't achieved

what you were supposed to achieve.

72

You can really take ownership of showing

throughout the year, not just at the end.

73

The contribution that you're making, the

value that you're adding in your role.

74

Pam: Yeah.

75

And one of the things that I find really

useful with the quarterly planning is that

76

it really helps you to set boundaries.

77

So where you might be unsure of what your

boundaries should look like, actually,

78

when you go through that quarterly

planning process and you reflect on

79

what you've achieved, and then you look

forward at what you're, what you're

80

Going to work on, in, in the next few

months, that is really going to help

81

you to decide what you can and can't do.

82

It is going to really set those boundaries

in stone because by doing X means you

83

can't do Y or by giving time to something

else means that it's going to take your

84

time away from something that could be

critical in you achieving your objectives.

85

So it's, I find it really useful

from that perspective as well.

86

Jacqui: It really is.

87

So if people haven't been in this habit,

how can you make a start with this?

88

If somebody didn't set three months

objectives at the start of this year,

89

or, this isn't their annual cycle.

90

Where are the first steps?

91

Pam: So the first step for me is always

to stop and take a step back and assess

92

what has happened in the previous quarter.

93

You're just looking backwards at what

you've done, at what you've achieved,

94

how easy it was, how difficult it was,

and really like focusing in on all of

95

the good stuff, the things that you've

learned, and also thinking about what

96

you want to work on going forward.

97

And the only way that you'll Get to

that point of what do I want to work on

98

moving forward or what are the priorities

moving forward is to think back and

99

look at what you've covered over the

last three months or the last quarter.

100

Jacqui: Love that, and we've got

four specific areas, haven't we, that

101

people can start to use to get some

of that hindsight and reflection and

102

build some of that understanding of

what's been happening before they

103

move on to the future planning.

104

So talk us through those four things.

105

Pam: Okay.

106

So the first one is going to

be, what does the data say?

107

So looking at all of the relevant

data and metrics that will provide the

108

insights into your own team's performance,

the project progress that you've made

109

and just general overall results.

110

And looking at, are you actually on

track at this point to achieve the

111

annual results that you want to deliver?

112

That's always going to be key.

113

Number one,

114

Jacqui: so that could be things like KPIs.

115

It could be the ongoing stuff about

projects that you're engaged with.

116

Are they on time?

117

Are they on budget?

118

It could be looking at the review

ratings that you've achieved or

119

that your team have achieved.

120

There's so much different

data, isn't there?

121

That people can look at to

start to build this story.

122

Pam: Yeah, definitely.

123

And then the next part, number

two is going to be reflecting on

124

achievements because we know most

of the ambitious leaders that we

125

work with, they don't spend enough

time capturing the good stuff.

126

And it's so important because apart

from that feel good factor that you

127

get from reviewing the good stuff.

128

It's really good to celebrate the

successes, the big and the small

129

successes, because we often overlook

some of these things as just being

130

part of the day job, but it can really

help you to recognize the efforts and

131

the contributions that you've made,

that your team members have made.

132

understand what made those

things possible, like what

133

were those contributing factors

and what made them possible.

134

And it also really helps to define what

your contribution is overall or what the

135

contribution that you've made is overall.

136

And then when it comes around to your

annual review, you will be Absolutely.

137

Super pleased with yourself that you

created that list because you'll

138

have that list and everything will

be documented down there and you'll

139

be able to retain that information.

140

Jacqui: Yeah, I couldn't

agree more with that.

141

When people come to think about their

annual appraisal, we have a recency bias

142

in our head where the stuff that is more

recent is going to be more memorable.

143

And so if you haven't done this, you

are doing yourself a disservice when

144

you get to the annual appraisal, because

you're not doing yourself a disservice.

145

You and your boss are likely

only to remember the more recent

146

stuff at that particular time.

147

And a lot of these other

things will potentially just

148

be lost to the midst of time.

149

So if you are serious about wanting to

progress your career, this is one of

150

the single simplest, but most impactful

things that you can do for yourself.

151

Pam: Yeah, definitely.

152

And then the third thing is identify

Challenges that you've faced during the

153

last three months or the last quarter.

154

And this isn't about beating yourself up.

155

This is about having a real honest

assessment of where you fell

156

short, or when you came up against

unexpected obstacles, because.

157

Really looking into those things

and understanding the root causes

158

and how you explored those potential

solutions is really going to help

159

you move forward because most of us

naturally will just put anything that

160

was bad, anything that made us feel

uncomfortable in a box and store it away.

161

And what we want to do.

162

Is we want to unpack that at the

end of each quarter or the end of

163

each month and think about, what

did make us feel uncomfortable?

164

What did we learn from that?

165

What can we take away?

166

What will we do differently next time?

167

Jacqui: This comes up so often with

clients where something that feels

168

uncomfortable and horrible actually

becomes a really helpful learning point.

169

When you look at.

170

Could I have anticipated that challenge if

I were to face that same challenge again?

171

What would I want to do in

that particular situation?

172

These are the types of questions that

when I'm working with coaching clients,

173

they have that opportunity to reflect

and it lets go of emotion attached.

174

It lets go of beating yourself up and

shifts into What can I take from it?

175

I can't change the past,

but I can change the future.

176

And if you don't have that reflection

time, then the risk is that you

177

repeat that same mistake because

you've missed the opportunity to take

178

the learning and the understanding.

179

I have so much empathy

for people doing this.

180

I was very much that kind of on to

the next, on to the next, on to the

181

next, and didn't do as much reflection

either on achievements or on challenges

182

as I could have done in my career.

183

And it's one thing that it now makes

me a fierce advocate because having

184

started to do it and recognized,

oh, This has a massive impact.

185

It has become something that working

with clients and seeing the value

186

it adds, I'm a huge advocate for it.

187

Pam: Yeah, I am the same with that.

188

And then that leads me on to number

four, which is seeking feedback.

189

So asking for feedback generally

makes people feel uncomfortable.

190

We know this and You can feel quite

exposed asking for feedback, but again,

191

it this isn't about beating yourself up.

192

It's about capturing the good stuff

and also making sure that you can

193

continue exploring changes that you

can make so that your next review Has

194

even more for the achievement section.

195

So it's about asking, the right

questions when you're looking for

196

that feedback, not just asking, tell

me generally about my performance.

197

So some questions that you can use in

order to get some actionable feedback

198

and we will also link to the podcast

episode that we did around asking

199

for feedback as well, if you want

to go a little bit more in depth.

200

But just to get you started with some

questions to think about for your

201

quarterly planning, number one would

be, how would you rate the degree of

202

clarity and direction I give the team?

203

Are there any examples where I've done

it well or could have done it better?

204

So these are questions that

you can ask to your team.

205

senior leaders.

206

And again, number two, from your

perspective, what are the one to

207

two things I could do differently?

208

You can keep this general, or you

can apply it to specific situations.

209

For example what could I

do differently in meetings?

210

And number three is how can I

better communicate our goals,

211

priorities and expectations?

212

And then number four could be, what

would you say the best things about

213

the contribution our team make?

214

So as you, ask those questions and

you capture the responses and you

215

reflect, you'll be able to think about

those things and what other people

216

have said, and really use that in

the next quarter to make sure that

217

you're driving your team forwards and

you're moving towards achieving what

218

you set out at the start of the year.

219

Jacqui: Yeah, it's, it is really

valuable and very few people

220

consistently commit to this.

221

And even if you don't create a future

90 day plan, just purely creating

222

that regular process of reflection

and review will potentially be

223

a game changer for your career.

224

So even if you listen to none of

the rest of this episode, then

225

take note of some of those areas,

think about how they could help.

226

Create some time for

more of that reflection.

227

So once people have done

that, then what comes next?

228

That's all well and good having all

that reflection and looking at the

229

data and thinking about what's gone

well and what the challenges have been,

230

how do you then start to move into

crafting a plan for the coming quarter.

231

Pam: So the first thing that

you need to do when you start to

232

think about creating your plan.

233

So obviously you need to give yourself

some time to look at those reflections

234

and really think into them and really

understand, what was good, what you can

235

do better and all of that kind of stuff.

236

The next thing that you need to do

is to create some thinking space.

237

So block out some time, In your calendar

and find a spot where you're not going

238

to be interrupted and that might be at

work that might be off site somewhere

239

that might be in a coffee shop, wherever

you know that you do your best thinking,

240

wherever you can be creative and really

give yourself that space to look at.

241

Everything that you've reflected

on and then what you need to

242

do to move forward as well.

243

So you want to be thinking about how

you can, how you can use this time

244

creatively and even thinking like,

sometimes a nice new notebook can

245

help or some new pens can really

help this part of the process along.

246

New stationery can sometimes

help you be a bit more creative.

247

I know I absolutely love a new pack

of highlighters and at the moment I'm

248

absolutely loving mechanical pencils from

all my planning so I can rub stuff out.

249

But whatever it takes for you

to think creatively and to give

250

yourself that time and space is good.

251

Yeah,

252

Jacqui: the environment is something

that people don't always give thought

253

to, and changing your environment

can really change your mental state.

254

It can really change how you feel

and just create that foundation for

255

you to think and operate differently.

256

So people generally do not do

their best thinking in front of a

257

laptop with a Word document open.

258

And yet that is so often when somebody

starts to think about creating a plan,

259

that's so often where people go to first.

260

We're not trying to be prescriptive with

what you need to do, but just think about

261

what environment works best for you.

262

Is it a cafe with a notebook?

263

Is it.

264

a different office?

265

Is it a whiteboard and magic markers?

266

What do you need to do your best thinking?

267

Go create that.

268

Pam: Yeah.

269

And I totally agree with all of that.

270

And I think the next thing for me is

about creating clarity as well, because

271

I think sometimes we set the goals

and we set the objectives and then we

272

almost move so far away from them that

we forget about, the real basic stuff.

273

So asking yourself questions like, what

are the expectations of me in my role?

274

Might seem pretty, pretty basic, but

actually sometimes we can move so far

275

away from what is expected of us because

we've taken on new projects and new pieces

276

of work and all the rest of it that we

can actually move quite far away from

277

that, which is then going to jeopardize.

278

Our ability to achieve those

objectives that we set at the start

279

of the year, and then thinking

about what are my priorities.

280

And also, like the key thing is what

is the number one priority, what

281

is the key thing that I need to be

focusing on in this next quarter.

282

And what specific outcomes,

do I need to deliver in the

283

next 90 days, and that might.

284

You need to go back and revisit the

original objectives and the original goals

285

and work out, are we on track or not?

286

And then going back to the data is

going to be really useful there.

287

And then what will need to be in motion

in the next 90 days so that the longer

288

term outcomes will become a reality.

289

So we're not just going to whip

out the documents week before

290

and go, Oh, how can we get all of

this done in the next seven days?

291

So yeah, so thinking about what

you need to have in motion, almost

292

planning out like each thing is a

mini project that you need to deliver.

293

I

294

Jacqui: just want to pick up two of

those I think are my top two and that

295

is the, what is the number one priority?

296

I bang on about this to clients, you

should always know what is the number one

297

priority for you and your team right now.

298

And you should make sure that

your team would answer that

299

the same way that you do.

300

And the other is that question of what

needs to be in motion to hit my annual

301

objectives as opposed to just what needs

to be delivered in this next three months.

302

It's so easy to, when you're doing

three month planning to focus on,

303

I need to deliver this in the three

months, or I'm already working on this

304

and this needs to get to this point.

305

You have to be aware of what are

the things that might be coming up.

306

There might be cross functional projects

you'll need to be involved with.

307

There might be things that are

going to be delivered in the second

308

half, but some groundwork needs

to happen in this next quarter.

309

So very much that longer range view

and then saying, okay, and of that,

310

what needs to be in motion in this

next 90 days will mean that you

311

don't have those nasty surprises

when you come to do the next plan.

312

Pam: Yeah, exactly.

313

And that leads quite nicely into the

next part, which is about reflection

314

again, because reflection is so valuable.

315

So once you sit down to create your planet

is about reflecting and asking yourself.

316

Some more questions around what

actions need to be taken in order

317

for the outcomes to be delivered.

318

What knowledge or skills will I need

to make this happen or what will my

319

team, what knowledge or skills will

my team need to make this happen?

320

What relationships do you need to develop?

321

And also what do you need

to stop doing or do less of?

322

And who will now be doing the work?

323

the work?

324

And I think that's the

real key part, isn't it?

325

Because we get so focused in

on let's write some actions.

326

Let's write some objectives.

327

What are we going to be doing?

328

What does success look like?

329

And all of that kind of stuff.

330

But we forget to just reflect.

331

Yeah.

332

And that little bit deeper to

really understand what actions

333

do we actually need to take?

334

And what are those core things

that sit underneath all of that,

335

like the relationships, because

building strong relationships in

336

one area can mean that you can

speed something up in another area.

337

And it's about looking at that as a whole

thing and how it all fits in together.

338

And it's just, when you do that.

339

It is it's game changing.

340

It really is.

341

And we do this for our business,

but we do this with clients as well.

342

Don't we?

343

And the feedback that we got from clients

is wow that is absolutely game changing.

344

I've never thought about it like that.

345

I set the objectives at the

start of the year and go.

346

And with the documents out in the

last few weeks and, jobs done.

347

And then you spend that few weeks

trying to pull all your evidence

348

together and all of that kind of stuff.

349

When actually doing it this way, you can

make that real impact as you go along.

350

And it helps with everything, doesn't it?

351

All of this stuff that you will

be doing within this planning and

352

within the 90 day planning is.

353

stuff that you can use

for interview answers.

354

It's stuff that you can use to progress

your career, to understand where you

355

need to develop on a personal level.

356

It's just the most valuable thing

that you can do in your career.

357

It

358

Jacqui: really is.

359

So with all of that in place

then, where you've got that good

360

thinking space, you've reflected

on how to create clarity for what

361

needs to be delivered or achieved.

362

You've thought about the actions

that then need to happen.

363

Essentially, that's the point at

which you're in the position to

364

create your 90 day plan, isn't it?

365

Pam: Yeah, and this is where you do

need to now take the ideas that you've

366

got and really document that plan.

367

So it's easy to get really hung

up on the format of the plan.

368

And if you've already got one that

you love, then just go for it, get

369

it done, start working through it.

370

Or if you haven't, or you're not

quite sure where to start, or

371

you'd like to see an example, then

Jackie's created a template that

372

you can use to get you started.

373

When, as you're working through your

plan, what you want to do now is you want

374

to take all of the initial information

that you've dumped onto the paper and

375

ask yourself, which of this stuff needs

to come first and start to sift through

376

the ideas that you've got and almost

create yourself three lists, a 30 day

377

list, a 60 day list and 90 day list.

378

And they're the things that

you will then work through.

379

At this point, it's not unusual to have

a huge list in month one and barely

380

anything in the second or third month.

381

And Jackie's smiling and nodding because

this is what happens generally, isn't it?

382

When we start, when we do that

first draft of the quarterly plan.

383

Yeah

384

Jacqui: it happens all the time.

385

And again, it's that recency

bias in operation where the

386

things that have occurred to you.

387

All feel like, yep, that's important.

388

So you've got all these ideas bubbling,

and it's natural to then just put

389

everything down for the next 30 days,

and then there's nothing beyond.

390

And don't get me wrong, I think a

normal 90 day plan will have more in

391

the first 30 days, a bit less, In the

30 to 60 days and a bit less again,

392

because curve balls will come in.

393

Situations will change.

394

There will be things that you don't

know now, or things that are contingent

395

for later on what happens at the start.

396

So it's natural that there will

be more at the beginning when

397

you first create your plan.

398

But just be mindful.

399

Of how much have you got?

400

And is that realistic?

401

Is that sensible bearing in mind how your

week is structured and how you operate?

402

What you don't want to do is just create

yourself a mad, crazy 30 day plan.

403

Set yourself up to fail and get to the

end of the first 30 days and be okay

404

that's all gone out the window and

I haven't had time to do any of it.

405

So it's just encouraging people

to have some of that balance.

406

And we would always advocate for

people to review your 90 day plan.

407

So craft it, create

it, put something down.

408

Go away.

409

I have 24 hours and come

back to it in fresh eyes.

410

You'll see things that you

missed, that you totally forgot.

411

And you're how the hell did I miss that?

412

You will also see things

that look like bottlenecks.

413

You will see things that you need to shift

from now to maybe a little bit later.

414

So don't just do this.

415

All in one go and think, ta da,

there we go, create it, but then go

416

away and come back to it before you

finalize what your plan looks like.

417

Pam: Yeah, and I think that's

the key thing, isn't it?

418

You just, you need to get it done and

then you need to come back and revisit it.

419

Because when you come back

with fresh eyes, you've had

420

time to let things settle.

421

And you can think through things

in a little bit more detail.

422

And also you might need to give yourself

some time to think through the different

423

processes and what needs to come first.

424

And if that comes first, who then

needs to wait, can that be managed?

425

And then you can just take

yourself through the process

426

and figure it all out as you go.

427

And I suppose the easiest way.

428

To do this and to like, make sure that

you are focused on your plan is to look at

429

the top priorities for each of the lists.

430

So on your 30 day actions, your 60 day

actions and your 90 day actions, like

431

what are the top three priorities?

432

And then you can then look at them

and see, do they link together?

433

Do they follow on from each other?

434

Does this look right?

435

And you're just picking the top three

and you don't look at anything else

436

until you've got through that top

437

Jacqui: three.

438

That's such a common thing is that people

have this huge list, here's my plan, and

439

then you do that sense check of, okay,

and the thing that you said was the

440

current top priority for you and your

team, how much of that is there in this?

441

And the other things that you said

were vying for attention of being

442

the top priority but didn't quite

make it, how much of those is there?

443

So if things really are the top priority.

444

Then make sure that's reflected.

445

And if things are lower down the

priority list, then that helps when

446

you're coming back to it to say,

do you know what, actually, there

447

needs to be less of that, or we need

to find an easier way to do that.

448

Or I need to find somebody else

that is going to work with me or

449

take ownership of some of those

aspects on that particular thing.

450

Because that's the whole purpose is

once you've got that clarity of what's

451

most important, how do you make sure

that there's enough attention to move

452

things forward on those top priorities?

453

And that's where this kind of

refining process becomes so important.

454

Pam: Yeah, definitely.

455

And when you're looking on it,

especially like if you're looking at

456

say, for example, you're looking at

the priorities in your 60 day list,

457

but actually some of those things need

to start to happen in the 30 day list.

458

But you've not included that as a priority

because you're focusing on other things,

459

then that's where you can then really go

back and go what actually is important?

460

Do we actually need to

achieve that thing first?

461

Or what we're looking at as immediate

goals, are they more important?

462

And I think the more you do that,

and the more you get yourself into

463

the habit of doing that and thinking

through those processes, it will

464

just save you so much time you.

465

And it will really help you

get the clarity as well.

466

It

467

Jacqui: does.

468

It becomes a filter for decision making.

469

It's a cycle.

470

The more that you create the

clarity, the more the things that

471

are most important are evident.

472

And the more that you can put energy

and attention into those things.

473

And then the more you do that,

the more momentum you gain on

474

the things that really do matter.

475

But also it gives that filter that says,

okay, if something else comes in from

476

the side, is that as important as this?

477

Do I need to take my attention off

this in order to accommodate that?

478

And going back to the episode that we did.

479

Just last about being more assertive,

then you've got that way of having that

480

conversation and of managing some of those

conflicting priorities when you've got a

481

plan initially, if you haven't done this

thinking, if you haven't got clarity on

482

what the priorities are, then you are at

risk of other people making demands of you

483

and your team and not knowing how to rank

things and how to try and accommodate and.

484

Trying to commit to too much.

485

Pam: Yeah, definitely.

486

And I think when you really do embrace

and become consistent with planning

487

and 90 day planning, you also embrace

and become consistent with the creative

488

thinking time as well, and making

sure that you've got that planned in.

489

And that will make it way more likely that

yourself and your team are better equipped

490

to deliver what you need to deliver

without burning out or wasting an energy.

491

on unnecessary tasks and it really is a

disciplined approach that will make you

492

more flexible in the long run and able

to stay in control despite any inevitable

493

curveballs that may pop up along the

way and if you'd like support of any of

494

this, Jackie does a really good power

hour around this, and there's a plan

495

and workbook that you can also download

or put the link in the show notes.

496

So if you want to download the planning

workbook and you want some support

497

with creating your plan, then do check

out Jackie's practical leadership

498

power hours, because they are amazing.

499

So thank you for listening this week and

please do share the episodes with anybody

500

that you think might find it useful.

501

And as usual, don't forget

to rate and review us on your

502

favorite podcast platforms.

503

And we will be back next

week with another episode.