3 Tips to help you measure immeasurable goals

Nonprofit Leaders: Here's how to measure your leadership development goals

As a nonprofit leader, if you want to make this year different, then you've likely set goals for yourself, and if you're serious, you've probably created a plan for how you will reach those goals.

The Next Step? It's to measure your progress. But how do you measure goals that seem immeasurable? 

3 tips to help nonprofit leaders measure immeasurable leadership development goals

1) Measure the use of the TOOL

​​Think about what you will use to help you reach your goal. Get clear on how you will use that tool. Then measure the usage of that tool. For example

GOAL: Be better able to focus on important but not urgent work
TOOL: Practicing meditation
MEASUREMENT: Measure how frequently you meditate

GOAL: To feel more confident in staff meetings
TOOL: A Journal to track and shift thoughts
MEASUREMENT: How often are you journaling your thoughts?

GOAL: To spend more time doing strategic thinking
TOOL: Getting away from your desk and going for a walk
MEASUREMENT: Count the times each week you walk and are simply alone with your thoughts

2) Measure the HABIT you need to instill to help you reach your target

​If your goal this year is a more work-life balance, habitually leaving work on time will provide more balance. Therefore, you could measure how often you leave work at five o'clock.

To feel more confident in staff meetings, you'll need to be more intentional before going into staff meetings. Choosing how you will respond instead of reacting to a trigger needs to become a habit before meetings. Therefore, you'll measure how often you preplan how you'll manage your emotions during the meeting. Is it becoming a habit that you naturally do?

When you find yourself stuck on a problem, you've likely been trying to figure it out in a linear, analytical or in-the-box way. Instead, you may need to think more freely, creatively, or strategically. When you create the habit of scheduling "thinking" time into your week, you'll be on your way to finding more time to think. Count the times you do it. Has it become a weekly habit yet?

3) You can measure the MILESTONES along the journey to the goal

​Completion of goals takes time and often involves many steps. However, we feel more engaged in our goals when we can see progress along the way. Therefore, checking off each milestone along the way is a way to measure progress.

FOCUS
Did you pick which app you'll meditate with?

• Check it off.

Did you start with two minutes, but a week later moved up to 3 minutes?

• Check it off.

CONFIDENCE
Did you find a journal or scribbler to write down your thoughts in?

• Note that as a milestone.

Have you journaled for at least five days in one week?

• Celebrate. You hit another milestone.

STRATEGIC THINKING
Did you do your first walk to think, despite feeling guilty about all the work you were walking away from?

• That counts as a point along the journey!

Did you tell someone you were "going to think" and not apologize for it?

• Write that down. That's another big step towards your goal. 

What you measure as a nonprofit leader, gets improved!

You can't manage what you don't measure says Peter Druker
You'll need to measure your progress regularly to help you achieve your goals this year. To help you do that...

• Measure the use of the TOOL
• Measure the HABIT you need to instill to help you reach your target
• Measure the MILESTONES along the journey to the goal

Review this regularly, and you'll FEEL the difference!