For the lawyers and other professionals who I coach, the start of a new year often brings a familiar pressure: set goals, stick to them and deliver! Yet many of us jump straight into drafting objectives without doing the essential groundwork. Real, sustainable progress begins not with targets, but with self-awareness. When you understand how you think, feel and behave – and why – you’re far better equipped to set goals that matter and achieve them with confidence.
Here are the three core ingredients for effective goal setting in 2026: developing your self-awareness, using the GROW coaching model and building habits that help you stick to your goals – key strategies to develop your self-coaching skills to support your professional, personal and broader wellbeing.
Before writing any goal or objective, it’s important to pause and reflect. Self-awareness – understanding your strengths, values, internal dialogue and behaviours – is the foundation of meaningful goal setting.
Identify your strengths and values
Lawyers in particular often focus on fixing weaknesses or responding to external pressures. Instead, start by identifying your strengths and values. These help shape goals that feel authentic and energising rather than imposed or artificial. Ask yourself:
Aligning your goals with your strengths increases the likelihood you’ll follow through and basing them on your values ensures they genuinely matter to you.
Notice your thoughts, feelings and behaviours
Your mindset determines how you interpret challenges and opportunities. The ‘Catch It, Check It, Change It’ approach1 (a simplified version of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) encourages three steps to develop self-awareness:
Martin Seligman’s work2 on thinking patterns also helps here – especially noticing when you slip into ‘permanence’ (“This always happens”) or ‘pervasiveness’ (“I’m terrible at everything”). Becoming aware of these automatic patterns gives you more control over them.
Use the Johari Window to expand your awareness
The Johari Window3 illustrates four quadrants of knowledge: what’s known to you, known to others, unknown to you and unknown to others. To set better goals:
Feedback isn't about negative criticism – it can illuminate strengths and opportunities you may not see. If you’re unsure what to work on in 2026, asking colleagues or supervisors for feedback is a powerful starting point.
Develop a growth mindset
A goal is only as strong as the mindset you bring to it. With a fixed mindset, you may avoid challenges, worry about mistakes or hold back from new opportunities. A growth mindset shifts your thinking:
This mindset helps ensure the goals you set are ambitious, grounded and achievable – even when obstacles arise.
Once you’ve built the self-awareness to choose meaningful objectives, the GROW model4 offers a structured coaching approach to turn your reflections into concrete goals.
G: Goal
This is your destination. What do you want to achieve by the end of 2026 – or before? Define your goal in one clear sentence if possible. It should reflect your values and strengths and you should be able to visualise what success looks like. Ask yourself:
R: Reality
Honestly assess where you are now. What progress have you made already? What challenges or obstacles exist? What opportunities or resources can you use? Reflect on:
Building your reflective practice helps you understand the meaning of your current reality and how it shapes next steps.
O: Options
Now think creatively. You don’t need to commit to anything yet – this is about exploring choices and possibilities to achieve your goal. Generate as many options as you can without judging them. Ask yourself:
This is also a great moment to consider the “power of no” (see below).
W: Will / Way Forward
This is where your plan comes to life. Choose your most realistic options and turn them into specific steps. Clarify:
This final stage converts intention into action. It holds you accountable and builds momentum.
Setting goals is often the easy part – sticking to them is where the real work begins! Professional environments can create constant demands, urgent deadlines, unpredictable workloads and client pressures. Without a strategy, goals quickly slip to the bottom of your to-do list.
Here are some practical ways to stay on track in 2026.
Break goals down into small milestones
A big goal can feel overwhelming, but breaking it down turns it into a series of achievable, smaller steps. Each small success builds confidence and reinforces your progress. And celebrate these milestones – rewarding yourself strengthens motivation and helps you maintain momentum.
Build self-compassion into your plan
Ambitious professionals often push relentlessly, but self-coaching requires balance. Self-compassion isn’t indulgent – it’s the recognition that progress includes setbacks. When you treat yourself with the same kindness you’d offer a colleague, you’re more likely to persevere through challenges.
Create accountability
Self-coaching doesn’t mean going it alone. You can:
Accountability keeps your goals alive and drives ultimate success.
Recognise the “power of no”
Achieving your goals often means protecting your focus. Saying “no” is really saying “yes” to what matters most. Try:
Boundaries are essential to long-term performance and wellbeing.
Reflect regularly
Reflection transforms experience into learning. Schedule monthly or quarterly meetings with yourself to ask:
These questions strengthen your ability to coach yourself effectively.
Keep perspective and celebrate success
Cultivate positive habits by recognising your achievements. Acknowledging progress builds confidence, strengthens your growth mindset and supports sustainable high performance.
Goal setting isn’t simply about writing objectives in an appraisal document. It’s about building your self-awareness to understand what truly matters, using the GROW model to shape clear, practical steps and then developing habits that help you follow through.
With the right mindset and tools, you can coach yourself to success – unlocking your potential, navigating challenges with confidence and making 2026 a purposeful and rewarding year ahead. Good luck!
Jamie Butler is an experienced executive coach and facilitator, specialising in the legal sector.
1 https://downloads.bbc.co.uk/headroom/cbt/catch_it.pdf
2 Flourish: A New Understanding of Happiness and Wellbeing: Seligman, Martin
3 How to Use The Johari Window Exercise for Leadership
4 Coaching for Performance, 6th edition: Whitmore, Sir John, Gaskell, Tiffany
If you would like to find out more about the work we do at the Tall Wall with Partners in professional services firms, get in touch at hello@thetallwall.com and find out more at www.thetallwall.com.