Crafting individual goals

In this lesson, I will deconstruct a goal setting process and structure the conversation. Now it may feel like a lot of hard work, but once you understand it and practise it, it becomes second nature. Also, once you adopt it, your people become culturally familiar with the process, so they come prepared and open.

Find the goal

This covers the work done in previous lessons but focusing more on an individual level. You should be able to align the goal to the overarching business goals, strategy and mission. If you can't then question, why are you even setting the goal? In your goal setting preparation, find the words to communicate the why statement? Ask yourself:

• Why is this important to the individual, the team, function and business?
• How does this tasks or project impact other departments or functions?
• Are their key stakeholders or collaborators that need to be engaged with?
• What needs to happen before they can start and what is the impact if they don't deliver on time, costs or quality?
• What resources are available?
• Who owns the task and decision making?
• Who is accountable and responsible?
• What does 'done, good, great' look like in your mind?

Make it personal

Now the real conversation begins. During your ongoing career conversations, you might identify some aspirations that can be met with the goal. Perhaps they want to take on more responsibility, learn budgeting, work more closely with a particular department, or something else. Linking the goal with the individuals needs and aspirations will engage and excite. 

You want to make it stretching, so they feel able to grow and develop, but not so challenging that it causes stress and strain. By knowing your member of the team, you will already know their strengths and limitations. You will also know their confidence levels and how far to push them. 

And the most important element - the HOW. This is where you ask them what they think needs to be done, the approach they would like to take and how they can see themselves delivering. The questions you ask now will give you such rich insight. You will understand what their vision for success looks like. You will learn what support they might need. You will identify any concerns, blocks or barriers to success.

Follow up

We will go into more detail about follow up in the next lesson. However, it's best practice, and a tool to give autonomy and ownership, to discuss how you will follow up on progress. This is essentially an agreement between you both, and you are equally responsible for doing it and thus securing the success of the goal.

Ask them what's next? Perhaps they need to go away and reflect or come back to you with a proposal. For some, they might be primed and ready to agree milestones right now, which are recorded in some way. Each organisation will have its own approach to recording goals and managing performance. If support is needed, perhaps training, coaching, or mentoring, then it's your job to facilitate this. You own the action as much as the team member.

Ask them how they would prefer to monitor progress against agreed measures. How will you know the job is done? What evidence will you need? Perhaps a daily check-in, monthly report or simply updating the project plan will be sufficient. The point is this needs to be agreed so they get the right amount of support, and you get the right amount of assurance that work is on track.