Let me introduce you to Marcus. (Coaching is confidential, so I changed his name but every word of this story is true.)
Marcus has spent his whole career writing S.M.A.R.T. goals → Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Timely. He’s spoken this goal language for 20 years; he’s fluent.
So when it came time to name his top goal for our six months together, I fully expected a S.M.A.R.T. goal. That’s what high-capacity leaders do. We take the tool that built our careers, use it for our lives too, and then wonder why it doesn’t quite fit.
Then he looked at what makes a W.I.S.E. goal in our Define Your Goal guide.
A S.M.A.R.T. goal asks, “Can I achieve it?”
A W.I.S.E. goal asks, “Do I want it, and who will I become when I achieve it?”
Marcus felt relief, then intrigue. For the first time, a goal didn’t feel like it came from his boss. It felt like something he actually wanted to go after, and it stretched the way he thinks about goals altogether.
Here’s what W.I.S.E. stands for:
- Whole. Your goal considers your whole life, not only your work.
- Identity-aligned. It flows from who you are and who you’re becoming, rooted in your own values and desires instead of other people’s expectations.
- Sustainable. It’s built on rhythms you can keep long after six months, at a pace that renews you instead of depleting you.
- Energizing. It gives you life. You want it, and it pulls you forward instead of adding pressure.
I, too, have been using S.M.A.R.T. goals for my entire career. But after the pandemic I started noticing how many leaders I coached wanted something different that didn’t fit that old model.
I’ve seen this more times than I can count with leaders like Marcus, and maybe with you. You plan for everyone. The budget has a plan. The organization has a strategic plan. Your team’s growth has a plan, and your family calendar is color-coded down to the minute. And yet, the one person without a plan is the one carrying all of it.
Our data backs it up. Of the 500+ leaders who’ve taken the Lead Whole Assessment, 57% are holding it together, unevenly. Not in crisis. Not thriving. Functioning. My hunch? A lot of them have a plan for everything except themselves.
So I have an experiment for you this week:
Write one W.I.S.E. goal for yourself.
Not for your team or your boss. For YOU. One sentence that starts, “By , I will…” Then hold it up to four questions:
- Does it consider my whole life?
- Does it sound like me?
- Could I keep this rhythm going?
- Do I actually want it?
If it passes all four, you’ve got something your calendar can’t argue with.
Writing a W.I.S.E. goal is the first step in Lead Whole, my six-month private coaching journey. Your goal is built from your own Lead Whole Assessment results, and then we walk your pathway together in 1:1 coaching calls, with coaching, support, and accountability.
If you’re committed to leading yourself with the same deliberateness and care you give everyone else, see if Lead Whole fits → ezerandco.com/coaching
Because the most important person you’ll ever lead is yourself.
P.S. Starting in December? Commit to Lead Whole by Monday, November 23, and your first month includes a second coaching call, free. That’s a $500 value. See if Lead Whole fits → ezerandco.com/coaching
