One of the fundamental requirements of any manager is to set a vision for the future then create a strategy and plan to achieve it. More often than not, you will need a team of people to help you achieve, and that means organising, delegating, monitoring and developing your team to achieve. Setting goals and objectives is critical, so you know where you are going, what needs to be done, by whom and by when.
How it Works
Successful companies set goals. Without them, they have no defined purpose and nothing to strive for; consequently, they stagnate and struggle for meaningful accomplishments. Goals are steppingstones to an end result. They must be present in every business plan and become a regular part of ongoing business operations.
How will your team know what is expected of them if you aren’t clear? Goals are a really great way to delegate, empower and motivate your people. Although you set the direction, the what, allowing your team to own the how is vital. Top down, autocratic, tell-yell-sell, approaches to leadership just don’t cut it in today's modern workplace. As we move up the hierarchy of needs, basic survival and security are generally met. Your people now want a sense of involvement, development and belonging. Goal setting is a perfect way to achieve this level of motivation.
Think about it
You want to lose weight or get fit, you need to have a vision of your future self in mind. You set goals that are grounded in realistic targets over a given period of time. You look for support and guidance, perhaps following some guru on Instagram or Facebook, join a club or a plan. Change doesn’t happen by accident; you need to apply yourself. The same is applied to your work. Ambling along, week to week without a goal or a target feels like mundane, boredom and stuck. When we become demotivated, out work suffers.
Goals are good.
Think of it as a road trip. You know where you need to get to and why you want to get there. You imagine a future state that is so captivating that you become really motivated to make it a reality. Next you focus on the journey and get clear on how you will get there, plane, trains and automobiles and when. Next you need to plan how you will make it possible, the route you take and the key success factors such as money, people, accommodation, maps. Finally, you set key goals, in the short term, to get you closer to achieving it. You buy a ticket, you get a visa, you get time off work…
Vision is a mental picture of the future. It is an idea of what the future can hold but has not yet happened.
The 2012 Olympics Vision was: “To use the power of the games to inspire lasting change – to host a game where everyone could join in and to inspire a generation” – ambiguous, but focused.
As a leader you have to look forward and see where you and the company/team are headed. This is vital as your people look to you to set the direction, give clarity and to stay on track. If you don’t know where you are heading, how can you plan, organise, delegate, monitor performance or develop the business, teams or individuals.
Explore: To remain open to ideas, possibilities and to dream as opposed to getting stuck on the first idea and seeking closure too quickly. Look at the big picture rather than focusing on short term goals and daily to do lists.
Bold: Be adventurous, reach for the stars and think big. Nobody gets inspired by small, risk adverse plans. We all want to belief in something bigger and more than we can do ourselves. So be adventurous in your thinking and if you have an idea, speak it, shout it out, who knows where that idea might take you.
Test Assumptions: Once you have a vision, test it out on others. Is it stretching, yet realistic? Could it be achieved with the right strategy and plan? What experts could give you sound advice?
Your mission adds more clarity to the vision. It states what you will do to achieve your vision.
The mission statement was to: Put athletes at the heart of the games, inspire the youth of the world and transformation.
This meant placing athletes at the heart of the strategy, investing in the best possible training, facilities and accommodation and venues. To drive Olympic values of respect, excellence, friendship, courage, determination, inspiration and equality by integrating them into all education programmes and sport, culture and community settings. Finally, to transform the east end of London, leaving new homes, schools, sports facilities and urban parks.
Each function or project kept the vision and mission in mind and when decisions needed to be made, they asked, will this help us to achieve our vision and mission. If no, they dumped it and moved on. They then created a strategy to deliver each component part, which then turned into goals.
Are you clear on the business or team mission? What specifically are you going to do? This might involve delivering new systems, technology, processes, developing people, working with a certain type of client, becoming award winning and so on.
The gaps between where you are now and where you want to be become your strategy.
The top team will set the overarching strategy for the business, but each function, site or team will need to create their own localised strategy too, which is then translated into key deliverables and metrics – your objectives. It also involves giving teams the freedom to decide what needs to be done and how.
When I work with clients, I gather the top team together in a room and ask the leader to share the short-term and long-term goals. Then all members of the team are invited to find as many ways as possible, actions, projects or initiatives to deliver in the most efficient and focused way – always pinning back to company values and mission. Naturally, some ideas will fall away, but some rise to the top. These become your strategic goals and your primary focus. You are mining for the best ideas and solutions from the people who will be responsible for delivering, and through this process, you gain total commitment. This activity can be replicated in all teams throughout your business.
Then your goals are the key measurable outputs that need to be delivered in a specific way/resource to ensure the vision and mission is delivered.
TEAM GB set clear goals, the top level one being to have more athletes represented in more sports than any other games before and to place in the top 4 on the medals chart. All efforts went into ensuring these goals were realised, and each sub team, for example cycling or wrestling, then set goals that were aligned to medal placement.
Your business goals should be specific, measurable and timely. These then turn into team and individual goals, all aligned and in flow. Each goal becomes a project which becomes a team goal, and each project becomes a series of tasks which become individual goals. Everything should be aligned and contributing to the overarching business goals, but in a really individual and meaningful way. Because everyone on the team is involved in the process, they now understand why this objective needs to be achieved and totally own it. They don’t want to let anyone down or be the weakest link. They are invested and committed.
Example – A marketing executive
Business goals – to deliver an existing product into a new market and increase turnover by 5%.
Functional Goals – Marketing, create a marketing plan based on market analysis, deliver marketing collateral and lead generation mid-year.
Team Goals – To conduct market analysis Q1, Create brochure and visuals Q3, Run a lead generation campaign online by Q3.
Individual Goals – To conduct market analysis Q1, Write copy for brochure Q2. Design video graphics for lead generarion campaign Q3.
The hard part
Even if you have created some really great goals, you now have the job of making them really motivating to your people, and ultimatley deliver. In the next lesson we will have a look at some of the reasons why some goals fail.
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