Two-Career Families (HBR Working Parents Series)

5

Setting Goals as a Family

by Jackie Coleman and John Coleman

Quick Takes

• Establish an annual meeting to set goals
• Identify family, couple, and individual goals (even for kids)
• Use a set of questions to structure the conversation
• Hold each other accountable and share constructive feedback
• Check in on each other’s progress

“Work” and “life” come up in our thoughts and conversation as separate and, all too often, in tension. We make annual resolutions, detailed daily plans, and to-do lists, but we do so as individuals, generally not sharing those plans or planning jointly with those closest to us. And we often think of our personal and professional goals as occupying distinct and separate spheres. But what if the work and home spheres could ...