"S" Is For Setting Goals

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As always, I want to offer my sincere apology to Sue Grafton for using (stealing??) her approach for the titles of her many outstanding mystery novels for this series of articles that I hope makes YOU a happier and more effective leader working with a truly empowered team that really enjoys what they do! Oh, and if you have not read any of Ms. Grafton’s novels I highly recommend that you give her a try.

There are two critical times for you to help in setting goals for your Teamers:

  • When you assign them a project

  • When you have completed a Performance Review and want to set goals for the NEXT review period

I’ll give you some ideas and suggestions on how to effectively set goals for your Teamers in each of these times in the following two sections.

Tell Them WHAT You Want To Achieve But Not HOW

“You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.”

- Walt Disney

Meet with your Teamer and give them the assignment, but don’t do it for them! Be as specific as you can on what you want them to do and help them develop a Project Work Plan that includes at least the following items for the project.

SAMPLE PROJECT WORK PLAN

Target User or Audience for the Project

Who is the user or customer? Identify the specific audience this project will help or deal with in as much detail as possible. Include individual job functions and/or titles if possible.

Current Situation

What is the current “situation or problem” that you want this project to solve or address for the user? What are the problems your user is having or may have had that this project must solve or address?

Project Objectives

What will the project do to solve the user’s problems(s)?

What are the Main Benefits Offered by the Project?

These benefits tell not just what a project does, but what it does for those who use it. List the user benefits the project must provide for each user.

What are the Alternatives to the Project?

What are the major alternatives to NOT doing this project?

What is the Budget for the Project?

It’s important to know how much money you have to work with. Up-front budgets give everyone an idea of whether they’re looking for a Mercedes or a Ford. Both can get you where you want to go, but each project carries a different price tag.

What is the Call to Action?

What’s the next step for your Teamers and Senior(s) for this project?

Timetable

The plan. The steps and time estimates for each phase to complete the project.

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Sometimes the Project Work Plan can become a fairly sizable document depending on the scope and complexity of the project. My suggestion is to keep it as short and simple as possible but make sure that it defines the desired characteristics, objectives, benefits, budget and phases and steps of the project.

Then ask them to prepare their ideas and plans on how to do the project and get back to you later (but not too much later – bug them if you have to, you don’t want the dreaded paralysis-by-analysis syndrome to set in).

Have your Teamers present their ideas and plans at a Walk-Thru session with everyone that’s working on the project in attendance. Listen and make suggestions and modifications to their ideas and plans and then roll them together into a single, agreed to project plan. Then GO!

“I believe that everything happens for a reason, people change so that you can learn to let go, things go wrong so that you can appreciate them when they’re right, you believe lies so that eventually you learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes good things fall apart so that better things can fall together!”

- Marilyn Monroe

Define the Goals for the Next Performance Review Period

“Goals. There’s no telling what you can do when you get inspired by them. There’s no telling what you can do when you believe in them. There’s no telling what will happen when you act upon them.”

- Jim Rohn

Now is the time to address any areas for improvement or training needs for your Teamer. Reserve a place on our Performance Review Form to cover at least these items:

  • Include any specific areas for performance improvement; that is any specific Job Success Talent that needs to be addressed and how to address it. The HOW is the most critical part of this goal!!

  • Include any upcoming projects that the Teamer will be working on to set goals.

  • Also include any special projects that you will need their help with.

  • Include specific training opportunities that will address areas for improvement. Encourage your Teamers to ACTIVELY look for future training opportunities.

Make sure that your Teamer participates in setting all of these goals for their next Performance Review. It’s critical to get their buy-in on their goals and opportunities.

“Another flaw in the human character is that everybody wants to build and nobody wants to do maintenance.”

- Kurt Vonnegut

I wish you empowerment, happiness, every success and peace!! Jonesy