At the start of each calendar year, many professionals think about what they want to achieve in the year ahead. For many of us, this could include improved work-life balance, measurable progress, and work that feels meaningful.
Coworking spaces provide access to both formal networks and informal support. When leveraged effectively, these connections are essential for professional growth, accountability, and personal development. Learning alongside others helps ideas take root and often sparks unexpected collaborations. In coworking environments, a single conversation can ignite a new project, partnership, or shift in perspective—highlighting the value of community in achieving professional goals.
As our coworking members consider their objectives for the year ahead, we encourage them to tap into the built-in community at Creative Works to transform their intentions into real, sustained action.
Professional Development with Clarity
Goal-setting is often treated as a solo activity, but research consistently shows that goals are more likely to be achieved when they are shared with others. Community-oriented coworking spaces naturally lend themselves to this approach.
Consider using your coworking community as a sounding board for your goals and ambitions. Casual conversations over coffee can spark motivation and help refine ideas; more structured opportunities—such as goal-setting workshops, member check-ins, or themed discussion groups—can provide you with a degree of accountability.
To explore goal-setting in more depth (and from an expert perspective), Creative Works spoke to Dr Yvette Ankrah MBE, the founder of Leading With C.L.A.R.I.T.Y, a professional development and executive coaching company. We asked Yvette to share her insights on setting achievable, meaningful goals—and how to approach them effectively in the modern work environment.
Yvette encourages the use of SMART goals and recommends framing objectives as small, focused trials rather than fixed outcomes. A well-defined goal, for example—“I will have three exploratory conversations with new contacts each month”—is far more effective than a vague statement, such as “I want to grow my client base.” This approach makes progress easier to measure and helps reduce the pressure that often leads to burnout. By breaking goals into manageable steps and finding the support you need, you make progress more achievable and protect your energy.
Yvette also emphasises that effective goal-setting begins with clarity and a clear sense of purpose. Writing goals down brings them into focus—particularly when they are personally meaningful rather than abstract ambitions. Aligning goals with personal values, she notes, increases both motivation and long-term commitment. For instance, a goal to increase revenue should be connected to what that income represents on a personal level, rather than set as an arbitrary figure. At the same time, Yvette cautions against unrealistic targets, such as aiming to earn a million pounds when the previous month’s revenue was £1,000.
Finally, Yvette stresses the importance of visualising outcomes—imagining what success will look and feel like—to stay focused and bring goals closer to reality. She also advocates for connecting goals to sensory experiences, making them more meaningful, energising, and aligned with overall wellbeing.
“Consider how you want to feel once you’ve achieved your goal. What will you say to yourself? What will you hear others saying? Visualising the end result—what success looks like—can help you stay focused and bring your goal closer to reality.”
Accountability and Peer Support Built into the Workspace
Yvette believes that accountability is paramount and a key factor in maintaining and achieving your goals. Access to accountability is also one of the most underrated benefits of coworking. Simply showing up to the same space regularly creates a rhythm that supports productivity, while seeing familiar faces working toward their own goals can be quietly motivating. In essence, it’s the difference between setting goals alone and having a network or framework that helps ensure you actually follow through.
Members can enhance this benefit by creating their own informal accountability systems, including:
- Weekly or monthly check-ins with another member
- Small peer groups focused on similar challenges
- Shared “focus hours” or deep-work sessions
- Public goal boards or intention-setting events at the start of the year.
These systems do not need to be formal or time-consuming. Even a brief weekly conversation—prompted by a simple question such as, “What are you working on this week?”—can boost follow-through and reduce the feeling of working alone. Accountability works best when it is supportive rather than performative. The ultimate aim is encouragement, not pressure, and progress rather than perfection.
Towards More Aligned Growth in 2026
Rather than trying to do everything at once, Yvette encourages us to focus on activities that genuinely move goals forward—whether that’s reconnecting with former clients, attending a targeted networking event, or exploring new partnerships.
The start of a new year is the perfect time to reflect not only on what you want to achieve, but also on how you want to work and live. Being part of a coworking community offers opportunities to align professional growth with personal development—realising your career or business goals while also evolving as a person through new skills, meaningful relationships, and enhanced wellbeing.
Yvette frames growth as something to be nurtured over time, rather than accomplished in a single leap. She believes progress comes from taking consistent, manageable steps while drawing on the support of others. Creative Works shares this perspective, believing that success in 2026 does not have to be a solo effort. By tapping into the energy, expertise, and support of your coworking community, a shared workspace can become a powerful catalyst for progress—one conversation and one step at a time.
To learn more about the work of Dr. Yvette Ankrah MBE, visit www.leadingwithclarityglobal.com. You can also register for a course through FutureLearn or email Yvette directly at [email protected] for career coaching, leadership development, or team support.
