Is this the year to ditch goal setting? To the organizational consultant, goal setting makes sense. If you get a team or organization to set a vision for the future they are more likely to grow and form into something bigger and better. The science of goal setting clearly supports this. But the reality of business needs to be considered when we implement science as a performance tool. Too much attention, I believe, has been focused on making goals SMART that managers have lost track of the real advantage of setting goals, which I see as communicating expectations and having a tool to talk about progress. The BIGGEST ADVANTAGE of goal setting is actually not the result but rather the process itself. Goal setting provides managers and direct reports the rare opportunity to talk about the future and identify the 3 to 4 (no more than 4 goals) major projects that they should be working on to move the business forward. Whether or not these goals tick the balanced scorecard boxes of financial, learning, improvement, or customer impact is often irrelevant, although can be a useful planning tool. The key elements to include in any goal is the OBJECTIVE which is stated as a verb (sell, grow, reduce, attract, promote, encourage, offer strengthen, improve, enhance, upgrade, tighten, streamline, expand, increase, develop, decrease, establish, invest, control), a GRAPHABLE METRIC ($, hr per, day month year) and an ACHIEVEMENT DATE. Anything else is just bells and whistles! Other considerations: limit the number of goals to no more than 4 and to regularly touch base to ensure they remain relevant and of top priority. The challenge for the everyday manager is to find the simplest way to take the science of goal setting and apply it to the reality of busy work. The science of goal setting is clear:
- The process is more important than the result
- Goals linked to personal self-interest are most motivating
- More than four goals split attention and put projects at higher risk of failure
- Goals that are slightly out of reach motivate most AND there is no difference in motivation whether the manager sets the goals or the team member does
So this year, rather than throwing out goal setting altogether, or just following the process inhabit, why not take the advantage of a simple and validated tool to get your team pointed in the right direction and have a GOOD conversation on what you are going to achieve together. We help managers set goals using a simple tool from One Page Business Plan called, ‘Bend The Curve’. The idea is straightforward: 1. State what you want to achieve this year in your business, team or department. 2. Identify four strategies on how to achieve your stated goals. Strategies aren’t action steps they are big picture plans on how to move the needle towards your results. 3. Define an action plan. And assign ownership. The best thing about Bend the Curve is that it captures all that you want to achieve on one page and assigns ownership for specific measurable actions. Ensuring you will meet your goals. Interested in downloading the tool and sample sheet? CLICK HERE
