The use of goal setting is a tried-and-true, thoroughly-tested, bona fide way to accomplish anything you want in life. Right? If that’s true, then why are so many people unhappy with the current state of their personal lives, hobbies and, most importantly to this article, their careers?
I’ll tell you – it’s because goal-setting is an extremely unreliable method of getting from “here to there” and can be significantly counterproductive in your organization if not implemented correctly. Here’s the truth…
The Power of Goal-Setting
As I said, goal-setting can be a powerful, positive and productive way to motivate you and your team. A tangible goal will be like “honey to a bee” as it will ignite enthusiasm and build teamwork around the common goal. A vague one, on the other hand, will only breed cynicism and destroy morale as team members waste their time in useless but “goal-oriented” activities.
Five Things to Avoid
I won’t bore you with the details on setting proper goals for your team. At this point in your career, you should have that task pretty well-handled by now but I will caution about diluting the real aim of those goals with these five common mistakes:
1. Buying into the NIKE Syndrome – “Just Do It” is a great catchphrase when you are just playing a game or even when you are the best in the business like Tiger Woods. The rest of us will have to do it with more pedestrian attempts when it comes to the business world. The point is that unrealistic, top-down edicts simply do not work as goals. To the contrary, there must be some objective way that the goal can be reached or your staff will eventually give up trying.
2. Not Keeping the Goals Internal – Almost every quarter on Wall Street, you can find a story about a company failing to meet the expectations of an outside group of investors. Even though the company has performed exceedingly well, the company did not meet “expectations” and the share price of the stock tumbles. The same is true on a more limited scale. Set your goals according to the needs of the company and not to what some outside group would find more palatable. In the long run, you will both be happier.
3. Focusing on the Short Term – Similarly, a focus on meeting the immediate needs of the organization may be short-sighted. While “making more sales” is a laudable short term goal, it does not really compare to “building strategic customer relationships.” At some point, a strategic outlook must be taken and senior management must indicate the proper direction. Without this guidance, middle managers will be at a loss for setting the right goals.
4. Ignoring the Forest for the Trees – The time, energy and resources that go into the development and administration of the goal-setting should not outweigh those dedicated to the project itself. In other words, many managers falsely see their role as managing the goals and not the project. If the tracking of goals is taking up to much valuable time it should be abandoned. Be sure that your “goal-making” involves a review process so that this insidious and time-wasting event does not take place.
5. Focusing on Disparate Goals – Dilution damages more than your best soup recipe. Creating a plethora – and yes, that’s the proper way to use the word – of goals is a sure-fire way to not meet any of them. Set your priorities and live with them or reprioritize, if necessary. Just be sure that your team understands the whys and hows of the reprioritization. Otherwise, they will never accomplish any goal and the whole point of “goal-setting” will be moot.
A Final Note
The real point of goal-setting is to identify to you and your staff where you want to be in the future and how to recognize it when you get there. Do not overlook or misuse this powerful tool or you will most probably be looking for more than just a new set of goals.