Every conversation has given me hope to believe that we can create our own future. As a mentor, having expanded from career and work growth to life growth has been instrumental in finding the right work-life harmony. To focus on what truly matters.
And recently, I had a chance to have my first in person workshop on GROW and personal OKRs in San Francisco. Thank you to DocuSign, DMA and PMA for this opportunity. It's beautiful when you can bring different communities together and embrace the similarities versus the differences.
I loved bringing my picture perfect introduction to life once again. To embrace all of me and what matters to me in this moment in time - my true love for SF, gardens, flowers and butterflies, to exploring bakeries and restaurants in San Francisco or baking at Chez 🎼.
To appreciate the communities that I feel like I belong - PMA, I am Remarkable, Civic Joy Fund as a trash vigilante in the weekends, helping keep my city clean.
And on Saturday, we had our District 10 Supervisor join us for our Bayview 3rd Street clean up. It is humbling to see folks supporting our community efforts.
And at the PMA/DMA event, I got to share my passion for empowering folks to be their authentic selves. This is my ikigai - my purpose of being and the reason why I wake up every morning.
It was uplifting and inspiring to help folks identify their top goals for the next week or month or year.
Sometimes we put the pressure of time to feel like we need to figure it all out by a certain milestone. And sometimes time is all we have to navigate the ebbs and flows of life.
Here is a Google document that you can print or copy and create your own GROW and personal OKRs - reach out if you would like to have a conversation and explore together.
If you would like to bring this GROW and Personal OKRs workshop to your team, reach out on LinkedIn.
I created this GROW and personal OKRs framework to help my team in 2018 as a first-time leader because performance reviews didn't do justice to our own career growth. There was a lot of ambiguity and unclear expectations from both the team member and the manager point of view. This allowed us to create those conversations outside of our one-on-ones on a quarterly basis.
And little did I know this was going to be my start for mentoring folks and being their accountability buddy as they navigated through their goals in work and life. With over hundreds of these conversations, I would love to share my experiences with you all and encourage you to create your own GROW and personal OKRs.
We started with a mindful practice on authenticity to ground ourselves and believe in our goals and dreams.
Here are a few aspirational goals from mentee/workshop conversations:
work-life integration - surrender to what comes, unattached to the outcome
right fit product marketing role | next job | promotion | pivot to industry
build on leadership skills
cultivate creativity everyday
personal boundaries at work
2. Reality
Here is our reality check:
feeling lack rather than abundance even in a position of strength
actively applying for jobs, networking, learning/upskilling
not enough practice or time
not eating as healthy | exercise | walks
juggling multiple expectations
3. Options
Our options as of now:
focus - use time boxing to get things done | pomodoro timer
be consistent - set a schedule and stick to it
continue interviewing + seek support from peers
engage in a community | networking & conversations with PMM leaders
do things that make me whole, feel alive, bring joy
prioritize nutrition, sleep and fitness
4. What's Next → personal OKRs
Personal OKRs:
build a personal brand → 2 speaking events, PMM meetups
land PMM job → refine portfolio, reach out to hiring managers every week
learn a new skill → 1 hour every friday on emerging tech course
be healthy → daily exercise / walk for 1 hour
find joy in creative pursuits → attend design, writing or art & craft events monthly for creative thinking
Think of the steps in GROW as an opportunity to discover your path and north star
Where do you want to be in your career and your life?
What is holding you back right now?
What would your future look like when this is a reality?
Being intentional about who you are and who you want to be can bring the shift in energy and focus to help you take the next step in that path.
Every goal is unique to why it matters to you. What's in it for you? And why now?
My personal OKRs have shifted over the past few years from being career-focused to being community-driven and finding synergies to foster a safe space and empower folks to be their best selves.
Everyday is a new day. To bring all of me into everything that I do. I can be too much for some folks and I'm okay to accept that now. Folks will come and go in our lives. We will be in each other's lives when we both want to be and we may distance ourselves at times. It’s a conscious choice to be. Listen to the universe.
Folks who choose to be in my life will find their way back always. And that's beautiful too. Not everybody will be in alignment with my thinking or approach at all times. This is embracing radical acceptance right here and right now.
