Hello and welcome to the aligned achiever podcast, and to our very first episode for 2026 I hope you had a wonderful winter break or summer break for those of you in the southern hemisphere. And today, I really wanted to talk to you about how to really make sure 2026 is intentional for you, how you can plan for the long game, how you can really begin to really focus on what’s really needed to get thinking about future proofing your career, but also just to make sure that you’re actually achieving the right goals that matter to you.

Now I know that might sound really simple, like, why do we need help with this? But for so many reasons, it can be really hard. Most people that I have been speaking to my clients and those that are in the pivot Pathfinders community, they know that things are shifting. They know that the times are changing and that they really want to get on the front foot and be intentional about where they’re going in their life and their career. And I’ve noticed that a lot of people didn’t actually start this year feeling very excited, excited.

Instead, they felt more alert, watchful, cautious thinking, something is changing. The world of work is continuing to change, and they can’t quite name what is underneath the surface. And I really feel like it’s this sense of unease with the uncertainty that’s increasingly going to become more and more normal as we navigate our careers now. The truth of the matter is, what has worked before when it comes to career strategy and career trajectory, it’s not sufficient anymore. The future of work is changing.

Those traditional career paths are not necessarily going to be there in three years, five years, 10 years time. And this is something that I’m very mindful of as a professional woman supporting other professional women, but equally for my kids as they enter teenage years, and I’m thinking about the future of education and what the world of work is going to look like for them as they enter the workforce. Still got a long way to go, but these, these things, are front and center in my mind. And I think the breakdown of linear careers means that we really need to think about how important it is to be adaptable, to be resilient. And from my perspective, we’re in a really long transition. It’s not a moment, and it’s not just about upskilling in AI and doing those courses that teach you new skills every day or every week, although, of course, that that can be beneficial, and that’s important. I’m really talking about how we’re in a long transition from a personal perspective, where we’re going to have to think about how we can be to build resilience. How can we be adaptable? How can we navigate transitions when the path is not so clear? I live in Hong Kong and so and I love to hike, particularly in these winter months. And I like to think of it as, you know, the future of work.

There was a well worn path. It used to be super clear that you would exit here, you would get on the path there, and you would sort of journey up the mountain, so to speak, right? Because the analogy is climbing the corporate ladder. But these days, you know, we’re going off the beaten track. AI is changing things. Corporations are restructuring more frequently. We’re expected to do more with less, you know, less headcount, less budget, less less on the PnL, right? And so we really need to think about how we can forge paths that are not the well worn paths and might look like, Oh, I’m not supposed to go down here, but you can actually forge a path there if you just start walking in that direction. And the most reliable way to think about navigating your career beyond 2026 is really to align with your actual strengths, and not the ones that you learned, the ones that are inherent within you.

Now, last year was quite a transitional year for me, and if you were following along with the podcast episodes, you heard me share my journey of how I had been working with unconventional tools, and really started to speak more publicly about those. And the the unconventional tool that I’ve really been working with is something called Human Design. And what I love about human design is it’s a invitation to come back to those natural gifts and talents.

Yes, it’s based on your birth time, and yes, it’s based on place of birth and location, which I know can sound really out there, but what I’ve seen in testing it is how valuable it’s been as a opportunity to come back home and ponder, okay, are these gifts relevant for me and to almost when I’ve been doing these sessions with clients, it’s really a huge permission slip. Be like, yeah, that is me. And when I can provide context of all the other ways that other energy types and design types operate, we can begin to see how, yes, we are uniquely wired differently to operate in the world. And when you work with your strengths, you’re becoming much, much, much more efficient and effective with what comes naturally to you, and it’s something that you can continue to refine. And so those Career Clarity by design sessions have been something that I really enjoyed in 2025 and really, really helped me as like, a three five profile, to really see that actually, yeah, women do resonate with this, and it is an opportunity to come back home to, you know, who we really are before the world told us who we should be. And so coming back to your strengths is really the risk management piece when it comes to the future of work in your career, because when you can work with your natural energy cycles and your strengths as much as possible, right?

I’m not saying that your career is going to be perfectly aligned and you’re never going to have to do a day of work that you don’t enjoy, although AI you can automate and you can do a lot that you can help you with a lot of those things now. But you know what I am saying is like when you can be really intentional to try and move in that direction? That’s when you can stop those burnout cycles, right?

Because you’re not forcing yourself to do something that you’re not that’s when you can start to work with Okay, strategically, how can I create income streams that align to these strengths and talents, so that I can create an alternative source of income that’s not just my corporate career. It can also help with decision fatigue, because when we’re working against our natural strengths, the push and pull factor can be super huge.

We can feel so, so tired and you know, I think most importantly, particularly as you know, I’ve seen coaching women as they get into their 40s and 50s, if they’ve been pursuing a career that isn’t really true to who they are, then you know, there’s this emotional flatness Despite the success. So when work is built from your not self, as they call it, in human design, or, you know, the way of being that isn’t really you, where you’re coping, or you’re proving or you’re doing what looks good on paper, you know it’s going to work until it doesn’t right, you’re going to hit that burnout wall. 

You’re going to feel so frustrated that you’re just going to have to get up and leave, you’re going to find that your organization is restructuring, and you go, I don’t know who I am without this role and this title and what I can do next. So my invitation for you in 2026 regardless of whether you want to leave your job or you’re thinking about your next move or you have any pressure on that front, I highly encourage you to think about how you can bring this into your existing role. Is to really look at like how you are designed to operate. What are your strengths, and how can you enhance those in your role? 

Because when it’s coherent, when you feel like you’re doing more of what you’re really good at, you know, it’s like a cycle. You feel better, you feel confident you’re contributing. You feel like your value of value, and it can really, really help with self esteem and confidence, but also satisfaction and feeling like you’re successful. So 2026, I believe, is a really pivotal planning year. It’s not about necessarily dramatic reinvention. It’s really about foundation work. If we look at this from a Numerology perspective, we’re actually moving into a one year collectively, which is a year about foundations of starting a new nine year cycle. And so this isn’t a year that’s like, okay, burn everything down. Rather, it’s about, okay, what new energy are we bringing? What? What what do we really want to create, and what are we bringing into the next nine year cycle that’s ahead of us? 

So 2026 regardless of whether you feel like you want to change things up, or you’re just simply setting goals and you’ve got a clear intention to kind of stay on the same track, I do invite you to think about what energy you want to bring into your 2026 now I’m going to guide you in a moment through some practical steps that you can do to support you in setting the right goals. Because really what I want for you is to feel like, come the end of 2026 you feel like you were focusing your energy and your time on the things that really mattered, and that you were moving forward in a way that felt really good to you.

Because honestly, I think one of the things that I realized in 2025 is that we think that we have so much time, we delay, we procrastinate, we say we’ll get to this later. And what I realized, you know, I had a couple of friends go through some very serious health issues, is that we can’t take that time for granted. Who knows how our health is going to be next year, or what might happen to the economy, or, you know, what life has in store for us, really, truly, we don’t. And so it’s really important. To not procrastinate and really be intentional with our time and energy and where we’re focusing, so that we’re living a life that truly matters, right? 

Because we assume that it’s going to last forever, and we all know that there is limited time. And I know that sounds really morbid, but why not be intentional in 2026 so here are a few steps that you can walk yourself through as you’re thinking about goal setting for 2026 and now you might have already done this, or you might be like, Oh, I’ve not started on January 1. Honestly, it’s very arbitrary. We’ve got Chinese New Year in Hong Kong coming up in February, which I always feel like is more of the start of the year. For me. Don’t know why, just energetically, it feels more like the start of the year. So just know we’re in that beautiful in between, between the traditional Gregorian calendar New Year and Chinese New Year. So now is actually a really good time to do this reset. So let me walk you through these steps. Step number one is to do a really honest review of 2025 and ask yourself, Where did the energy return exceed the effort that you put in, and where did it not IE, you know what really made you feel like, oh, it gave so much. And it was like the ROI was huge compared to the effort that you put in. And where was that not true for me? I found that for me, the foundational habit of going to the gym, and the amount that I pay, the amount of time that I put into going to the gym, what I get in return from that far exceeds my investment in terms of time and in terms of energy. I realized at the end of 2025 when we were away on holiday, that I wasn’t exercising. I’d fallen ill. Wasn’t exercising. I went skiing with my kids and my husband and I, this is a new skill that I’m learning as an adult. And you know, I wasn’t doing my usual exercise. And for me, skiing, it’s not highly strenuous, because I’m, you know, still a beginner, and I realized how much I get from exercise, not just from a physical perspective, it like feels good, of course, to lift and to move and, you know, to challenge myself, but you know, from a mental and emotional health perspective, I get so much I sleep better, I eat better, I get to have community and see people that are positive, and there’s such a huge return. So that’s an example for me of where the energy return exceeded the effort. What is it for you? And I know we’re talking about goal setting, and I you know, I’m preampling this with career, but the things that you do in your personal life are so important you are not just your corporate persona. 

So being able to name those things outside of work are really, really important and beneficial. So I encourage you to think about where that happened for you. You might find that you know, the energy return from a creative hobby was more than the effort that you put in. Maybe you got a lot back from spending time with family. Maybe you got a lot back from looking after your finances and, like, saving and, you know, doing the minimalist thing in 2025 maybe you got more energy when you set boundaries, like, what was it for you?

And on the flip side, where did it not for me? I know I had projects where I poured a lot of energy, a lot of time, but the reward wasn’t really there. And I say the reward not necessarily just financially, but in terms of, like, traction, movement, and I think I put too many things on my to do list, and I would have been better served to focus on less, which is where the book essentialism is super powerful. I’ll link to it in the show notes. But this book, essentialism, by Greg McCowan, is great because he talks about just focusing on the vital few over the trivial many. And whilst I’ve read the book, I do find that I fall into the trap of, like, trying to add just a little bit more onto my plate. So for you honest, where did you get energy? Where did you did energy get drained from you? Let’s, let’s look at that as a frame of reference. Then step number two, we want to look at, okay, what? What direction are you moving in like? What feels really stabilizing to you, like? And you know, this can be really triggering for people. I know oftentimes, when we go into interviews, people say, what’s your five year plan? Or, you know, something along those lines. And I know I’ve had clients who are like, I don’t know. I just want to do good work and see where it takes me, you know. So you get to choose the time horizon for you, but you know, let’s say, come the end of 2026 like, what are some of the things that you want to have achieved or experienced? Very broad question, I know I like to look at one personal and one professional goal, but for you, you can spin this in any which way. 

For. Me, I’ve enrolled in a year long coaching program. This is a program that’s really for my own growth and development, but will, of course, come into my ability to be an even better coach. But for me, that’s my one personal goal, to really hone in on this program and lean into all of the learnings and the teachings from that, from a professional perspective, I’m really definitely down on Pivot Pathfinders, because I really want to support more women with intentionally pivoting in 2026 and when I say pivot, I don’t necessarily mean changing careers or changing jobs. Sometimes the pivot can be simply internal and making a slight shift in perspective and mindset. And so for me, that’s really where I want to be focusing my time in my own business. And as some of you know, I’m also in a business partnership with Elaine champion, and we’ve got the watch her lead Academy here in Hong Kong. So that’s another project. 

Those are the two, the two big programs that I have in mind for 2026 as I’m looking at my professional goal. So what is it for you? And as I speak to it, I haven’t set SMART goals, right? I’m just sharing with you the general direction I’m moving in, not the specifics of my goals. But for you, have a think about, firstly, what is the direction, and then secondly, you know, which really ties into step three? How can you actually bring this into some form of goal. So, you know, with my personal goal of, like, this coaching program that I’m doing, my goal is to graduate and fulfill all of the requirements that are asked of me for that program and for that there’s a lot, right? There’s, like, a certain number of hours of coaching that I need to do, there’s homework, there’s self reflection exercises, there’s calls and intensives that I need to attend at crazy hours, and US time zones, which is a bit nuts, but really cool to this program. So for me, that already has built in goals. And then if I look at my own business with watch I lead and with pivot pathfinders. I know there’s a certain number of women that I would love to support and that we would love to support, and you know, there are some metrics around that. So the intention here with Step three is to set some goals, and actually, the fewer the better, which is why one personal and one professional goal can be really helpful just to keep you focused. Remember what I said. 2025 I put too much on my plate. So this is coming from experience when I’m sharing this with you.

Step Four then becomes Okay. Well, 90 day actions How can you begin to break your goals or your direction down for 2026? Into quarters. I like 90 day action plans. I love working in quarters. I think it’s enough time to really sink your teeth into a project. But equally, it gives you an opportunity to, you know, test and refine and check in as well. So for the first quarter of the year, you might like to think of this, the next 90 days as a testing a testing quarter, where you’re testing out that goal, or you’re testing out an idea for yourself, what might it be? So for me, I know, for my coaching program, I know that I’m going to be doing some beta clients where I’m going to be testing this modality, even though I’m not certified in it yet, but I’m going to be testing it to see how it feels and how it goes. In my business, I’m going to be testing different things. 

So in Pivot Pathfinders, I’m going to be testing certain teaching modules, certain ways of running calls, certain extras in terms of curriculum and office hours. That’s what I’m going to be doing. And I do encourage you to think about testing, because when you adopt this sort of experiment and mindset. It takes away the the need for perfection and the need for nailing everything, and it really supports you to be more resilient and adaptable. So once you’ve kind of mapped out your 90 day action plans and what goals you want to hit in each of the different quarters, what that also does is it gives you breathing room and space to map out, you know, when is realistic. So for me, I have constraints that my kids are off school in July and half of August. We have also a long break in December. And so I know I’m a business owner, so I have flexibility, but I’m looking at, how can I think about my goals that work in alignment with my kids school calendar, so that I can make sure that that priority of being a present mom is met, right? And that’s kind of a given I don’t like sort of state that as a goal. It’s just woven into how I organize my time and my day. But with the 90 day actions, you know, I do also encourage you to think about putting in those holidays, putting in those breaks, and intentionally protecting them. Something I’m playing with in 2026 is I’ve pre scheduled in quarterly review and planning days. Some of those are just going to be me taking myself up to a co working space. Others, I’m going to do a solo staycation, and really like give myself a bit of time and. Space and opportunity to be in a different environment, to think differently, and I can look to my human design as to what kind of environment will best support me with that. So think about what your 90 day actions might be. 

So after step four, you want to think about, okay, what, what support might you need? You know, how can you look after your well being? What are some of the supports that you need to help you in that, as I said, for me, exercise and going to the gym like that’s a non negotiable for me now that is something that’s woven into my my weeks as a habit, but equally support. I also have mentors. I also have communities that I’m a part of where I can ask my question. So I’m thinking about, okay, how can I support myself? So think about what that might be for you. Maybe you start a mindfulness or a breath work practice. Maybe you actually put yourself into an a group and a community that’s going to support you with one of your goals. You don’t have to go it alone. And I think that’s one of the biggest messages I really want to encourage you to take in for 2026 that you don’t have to go it alone. We’re not meant to do everything by ourselves, and there is so much joy in being in community. 

So let me just recap those steps so that you’ve got them. So if you want to do your goal setting for 2026 step one is that honest review. Where did you get a lot of energy in 2025 Where did you not step number two, like, what’s your direction that you’re moving in, preferably one professional one personal goal. Then step number three is breaking it down into fewer goals. So okay, you might want to be more healthy, you might want to advance your career. What is that? In terms of a goal? How can you get that to be really, really specific? And then step four, how can you start to think about 90 day action plans where you’re breaking down your goal into different quarters, and you’re thinking about how you can make sure that there’s time in each of these quarters for rest, for rejuvenation, and for those important milestones that matter. And then step number five, what support or routines do you need to put in place to really help you to be successful in where you’re moving? 

So I’ve shared quite a bit today in terms of how to get yourself set up for 2026 My intention is that with the way the work, the future of work is going with the idea of future proofing. The idea is not about moving faster. It’s about moving forward with less friction. You don’t need to become someone else this year. You simply need to organize your work around who you already are, understanding your strengths, prioritizing what matters. If you would like support, I’m very open to doing a Career Clarity by design session for you. This is a one off session to give you an understanding of how you’re naturally wired. And if you know in 2026 you want to pivot into something else, then check out the pivot Pathfinders mastermind. And if you are here in Hong Kong, and you are a woman leader that wants support with your leadership, we kick off the academy on Saturday the 24th of June. So as this airs, it will be this coming weekend, so you can just squeeze in to have your application in, have a conversation with Elaine and I, so that we can see if that is the right fit for you, and I’ll put all of these options to the link in the show notes over at Siobhan barnes.com, forward slash, 144, that brings us to the end of this episode. 

So thank you so much for tuning in. I really hope that 2026, is a year that brings you more joy, more peace, more meaning, more intention. And I really, really hope that you use the year ahead to really set yourself up for the changes that are coming with the future of work, because I really think the people who will do well in the years ahead aren’t the ones who’ve just adapted themselves endlessly, or just put their heads down and hope that things are just going to continue as the old way. It’s really the ones who have the courage to adapt their work to fit who they actually are, and are really thinking about how they can intentionally use those gifts, lean into those, monetize those and really share those with the world. 

So thank you so much for tuning in. I would love to hear any reflections that you have. If you want to share your thoughts, any takeaways, please come and find me at LinkedIn, I’m at Siobhan Barnes, or at Instagram. I’m also at, I am Siobhan Barnes, and I would love to know what your goals are for 2026 and to really hear more and be able to support you as well. So thank you for tuning in. Please remember you are here for a reason beyond merely hustling, grinding and merely surviving, you matter.