Elevate Your Leadership: Incorporate Personal Development Goals and Growth Plans
Elevate your leadership by integrating personal development goals and growth plans. Discover actionable strategies to enhance your leadership effectiveness and achieve your professional aspirations.
Personal Life as the Foundation for Leadership
As women in tech, we often pour so much of ourselves into our careers and teams that our personal lives can slip into the background. We convince ourselves that the next promotion, product launch, or milestone is the priority—and our well-being can wait. But here’s the truth: thriving as a leader requires thriving as a person.
Your well-being—mental, emotional, and physical—isn’t a luxury. It’s the foundation for how you show up for your team, your organization, and your own goals. Yet too often, we leave our personal lives to happenstance, assuming things will fall into place on their own. They won’t. To lead authentically and sustainably, you must be as intentional about your personal life as you are about your career. And how do you accomplish that? Through personal development goals and growth plans alongside your professional ones.
This final installment of the series shifts focus to personal life planning as a key to achieving your personal development goals. From planning vacations and managing finances to nurturing hobbies and prioritizing health, this post will help you design a personal life that supports your leadership journey. Because when leaders thrive, they create the space for their teams to do the same.
Prioritizing Rest and Rejuvenation
In the fast-paced world of tech, burnout and busyness are practically badges of honor. But running ourselves into the ground doesn’t make us more productive—it robs us of our creativity, clarity, and resilience. Rest is essential. Yet, if you’re anything like me, you may have spent years waiting until burnout forced you to take a break.
I used to live in three-month burnout cycles: push to the limit, crash, recover, repeat. It wasn’t sustainable. Now, I approach rest differently. During my yearly planning, I schedule vacations and days off in advance. I aim to run my life at 80% capacity rather than maxing out every moment, creating space for flexibility and rest. When I notice the early signs of burnout—fatigue, irritability, or lack of focus—I make adjustments before reaching my breaking point.
Proactively scheduling rest doesn’t just benefit you—it sends a message to your team. When leaders prioritize well-being, they model what’s possible and give their teams permission to do the same. Rested leaders inspire rested teams, fostering creativity and sustainable success.
Listening to Your Body and Prioritizing Health
For many leaders, pushing through stress, fatigue, and discomfort feels like the norm. But ignoring your health comes at a cost—it impacts your resilience, focus, and decision-making. Thriving as a leader starts with listening to your body and making health a non-negotiable part of your personal growth plan.
I’ve learned to tune into my body and recognize when something feels off—whether it’s physical tension, trouble focusing, or emotional overwhelm. These signals are my cue to pause and recalibrate. I’ve built non-negotiable health habits into my routine, such as scheduling exercise into my calendar like an important meeting. Quick resets, like taking a five-minute stretch break or stepping outside for fresh air, help me stay centered throughout the day.
When you prioritize health, you align with your personal development goals and lead with energy and clarity. It’s about showing up for yourself so you can show up for your team. And when your team sees you modeling this behavior, they feel empowered to prioritize their own well-being, creating a ripple effect of health and balance.
Building Financial Health and Reducing Stress
Financial stress can be a silent disruptor, distracting us from focusing fully on our goals. As leaders, taking control of your financial health is both practical and empowering — especially when you can create systems and automate saving. When you don’t have to worry about your finances, you gain the mental clarity and stability to lead with confidence.
One tool I use is creating a personal spending plan. This helps me be intentional about where my money goes and ensures my resources align with the life I want to build. As a small business owner, budgeting is critical—not just for my business but for my personal life too. Even when I was leading teams in the tech industry, financial stability freed me from unnecessary stress, allowing me to fully focus on my work.
A game-changing habit for me has been my “Purchase Later” list. Whenever I want to buy something over a certain amount, I add it to the list instead of buying it immediately. After a week, if I still want the item and it fits into my spending plan, I’ll make the purchase. If not, it stays on the list for later. This habit has helped me avoid impulse purchases and stay aligned with my financial goals.
Financial health is about being intentional, not about deprivation (that’s why it’s a personal spending plan and not a budget). By building systems that reduce stress and support your long-term vision, you create peace of mind and space to thrive.
Investing in Hobbies and Personal Fulfillment
Hobbies often feel like luxuries we can’t afford—but they’re not. They’re essential for mental clarity, creativity, and overall joy. Personal fulfillment outside of work fuels our ability to lead effectively and with empathy.
For me, simple rituals like gratitude walks or meditating in my hot tub under the stars help me recharge. I also schedule activities like exercise, meeting with friends and creative hobbies into my calendar, treating them with the same importance as work commitments. These moments of joy and self-care are what keep me grounded.
Hobbies not only create time for relaxation, they also allow for sparking inspiration. Rediscovering your passions can lead to fresh ideas and new perspectives that make you a more dynamic leader. Whether it’s exploring a creative outlet, joining a community network, or dedicating time to a long-forgotten interest, hobbies are a powerful tool for personal and professional growth.
Leading by Example
Your team is always watching—not just what you say, but what you do. If you’re constantly overworked and neglecting your well-being, your team may feel the pressure to do the same. But when you lead by example, prioritizing rest, health, and balance, you create a culture that values sustainable success.
During my time as VP of Software Engineering at Tile, I made Pilates a non-negotiable part of my schedule. It was blocked on my calendar, and my team knew it. One engineer once said, “Well, you can do that because you’re the VP, but I can’t as an engineer.” My response? “Yes, you can. If anyone questions it, send them to me.” By modeling this behavior, I empowered my team to take care of themselves too.
The result? A healthier, more creative, and more productive team. Leading by example creates a ripple effect that inspires your team to prioritize their well-being too.
Framework for Personal Life Planning
Creating a personal life that supports your leadership requires intention and structure. Here’s how you can get started:
1. Yearly Planning: Schedule vacations and downtime for the year ahead. Block these dates now to ensure rest is non-negotiable.
2. Quarterly Check-Ins: Review your personal goals every quarter. Are you prioritizing health, hobbies, and financial stability? Adjust as needed.
3. Monthly Reviews: Reflect on what’s working and what needs to change. Plan small, achievable goals for the month ahead.
4. Weekly Implementation: Build non-negotiable habits into your week—like exercise, creative outlets, gratitude practices, or time for rest.
This framework ensures your personal life supports your leadership goals and prevents well-being from becoming an afterthought.
Conclusion: Empowerment Through Intentionality
Thriving as a leader isn’t just about achieving professional milestones—it’s about designing a life that sustains you. When you intentionally plan for rest, health, financial stability, and joy, you show up as your best self for your team and yourself.
You’re not just leading a team—you’re inspiring a culture of balance, sustainability, and joy. By prioritizing your personal well-being, you set a powerful example for others to do the same.
How are you designing a personal life through personal development goals and growth plans that fuels your leadership journey? Share your insights or reflections—I’d love to hear from you.
Make sure to also read Part 1 and Part 2 of this series.
Together, let’s redefine what it means to lead and thrive, both personally and professionally.
