Send to KindleI was talking to an engineer who was complaining about management. No news there, but he made a valid point. He was objecting to the goals his management was setting because he saw them as goals to further the particular manager rather than the company.
Unfortunately, that isn’t an unusual situation and is indicative of self-possessed leaders who don’t understand how to properly use goal-setting as an effective leadership tool. Goals should only emerge after a leadership team has developed a clear understand of the company’s mission, the values guiding the company’s operations, and a review of obstacles that might get in the way of goal accomplishment. Only after these factors are understood should leaders attempt to set goals and then each goal should be evaluated to ensure a direct link to mission accomplishment as well as adherence to the company’s values.
Here are four things leaders should do when setting goals.
1. Make sure each goal is directly tied to the company’s mission. Remember, the purpose of goals is to drive company success.
2. Once the leadership team has determined the goals for the company, allow those with the expertise in the area concerned to review those goals and help develop the necessary objectives to make the goal a reality. Use the experts. Usually, they don’t want to run the company, but they also don’t want to be chasing rabbits on a frivolous mission.
3. Communicate the goals. This is probably one of the most important aspects of goal setting. Everyone in the company needs to know not only what the goals are, but what their part is in accomplishing those goals. That doesn’t mean breaking out the pom poms and leading a cheering session. It usually isn’t difficult to help most people understand their part in making the goal a success, especially if they’ve been involved in the process.
4. Follow-up and periodically review the goals. Goals that don’t have regular follow-up by leadership are worthless! Review all the goals annually. That doesn’t mean goals must be accomplished in a year, just that they need to be reviewed to ensure they’re still valid. The world changes rapidly and what was important last year may not be important now.
There are four specific things leaders should not do in setting goals.
1. Don’t arbitrarily set goals just so there will be goals.
2. Don’t use goals as competition with other leaders. Your people will not appreciate being used as pawns in your personal chess game.
3. Don’t set goals that are not directly related to the mission statement. Goals are a means of accomplishing the mission. Yes, there are things you must do every day that are not directly tied to mission support, but they should not rise to the level of a goal. If they do, valuable resources are most likely being misdirected.
4. Don’t set goals in a vacuum. Leaders must understand the hard truth that they usually aren’t as smart as they think they are.
When used inappropriately, goals can have a powerful, yet negative, effect. When these points are followed though, goals are a potent tool for helping any organization excel!
