IPWS Thought Activator Recap & Photos
On February 24th, we were fortunate to have Karrolyn Van Helden, Vice-Consul and Trade Commissioner at the Consulate General of Canada, speak with the IPWS community as the Thought Activator of the Month.
New Year brings hope for new beginnings. But up to 80% of New Year’s Resolutions are dropped by the end of January. How can we set goals that we not only see through to completion, but that also allow us to live and lead with meaning, purpose, and intent?
Karrolyn shared her insights, which she’s gained through 15 years of working with senior leaders, in strategies that help to develop the skills needed to reach our goals and lead with effectiveness and intent.
Here are just a few of Karrolyn’s insights:
💡 A goal can fall into one of two broad categories — it can be either an approach or an avoidance goal. Approach goals are framed in terms of obtaining, or approaching, a desirable outcome; for example, obtaining a new skill to become more competent. Avoidance goals are framed in terms of avoiding an undesirable outcome; for example, preventing the possibility of appearing incompetent. Because approach goals contribute positively to motivation, it is thought that approach goals are 20% more likely to be attained than avoidance goals. When you define goals, frame them as approach goals to increase the likelihood of attaining them.
💡 Oftentimes, we fail to attain goals because we have no attachment to our future selves, so we fail to imagine the impact that attaining those goals will have on us. To overcome this, build connection with your future self by visualizing your goals, including what attaining them will look like and what impact attaining them will have.
💡 Be mindful of survivorship bias when making decisions and defining goals. Survivorship bias occurs when a visible successful subgroup is mistaken as an entire group due to the failure subgroup not being visible. This causes an individual to make erroneous decisions that are based only on data obtained from success cases without considering data from failed cases. Without using all the data that is needed to make rational decisions and to define goals, you may make poor decisions and define the wrong goals. To avoid survivorship bias, ask yourself what data might be missing, and take time to research missing data to understand as much of the whole picture as possible.
Our special thanks also goes to photographer Ruby Watt for her wonderful work in capturing moments from the evening. WeChat: rubywatto | Instagram: rubywattphotography | Email: rwatt2730@gmail.com | Phone: 13917182081
