Achieving Goals_ Define and Surpass Your High Performance Goals - Kathleen Schienle [4]
MANAGER AS COACH
Not so long ago all managers operated on the command-and-control model, where the boss called the shots, not just for the business but also for individual employees. Today, though many managers still find it difficult to shed the vestiges of this old-school behavior, the coaching method of management is increasingly popular.
The coaching model is grounded in a belief in the innate abilities of people and in the value of their ideas. The focus is on developing skills within the group in order to move the company toward its immediate objectives and long-term goals. Managers who operate like coaches are open and approachable. They involve everyone in setting the goals and objectives for the team and invest time and effort in building relationships with their team members. They are empathetic about setbacks and help remove obstacles to achieving goals. They view their own role as serving the people they work with.
“Man is a goal-seeking animal. His life has meaning only if he is reaching out and striving for his goals.”
—Aristotle,
Greek philosopher
(384–322 BCE)
When you make yourself your employees’ coach and invest your time in their well being, you counter their resistance to goal-setting more easily. To make goal-setting take hold and become a part of the fabric of your work environment, you have to make it your priority. You also need to communicate and demonstrate the benefits of goal-setting to each individual and to the group as a whole. Ultimately, their success reaching goals will encourage your staff to make goal-setting a part of their lives.
DEVELOPING GOALS THAT WORK
“We overestimate what we can accomplish in one year, but we underestimate what we can accomplish in five.”
—Peter Drucker,
management guru and author
(1909–2005)
As a manager, you will develop goals for your employees, team, department, division, and company. But you should also set goals for yourself. Creating goals that improve performance takes more planning and thought than most people realize.
Although the concept of setting goals may be easy to grasp, many managers don’t know how to do it. Personal development coach Gene Donohue, founder of the online motivational site Top Achievement, believes that “the difference between a goal and a dream is the written word.” Real goal-setting goes beyond simply drawing up a list of wishes such as the New Year’s resolutions that many people—however well intentioned—give up on before the end of January. If you focus only on these wishes or dreams, you can become overwhelmed or discouraged when you think about what it will take to achieve them, and then you might give up on them prematurely.
THE BOTTOM LINE
DEFINING THE TERMS
To understand why goal-setting matters to an organization, it’s important to distinguish the differences among mission, goal, objective, and task.
Mission–A concise statement that expresses why an organization exists and why it matters, what work it does, for whom and how, and where it’s going. Many corporate mission statements also encompass the company’s relationship with its employees—how they relate to each other and to their work and sometimes even how they are coached, trained, and rewarded.
Goal–A specific, measurable achievement that helps a company fulfill its mission.
Objective–An action or activity that helps achieve long-range goals.
Task–An “action item” essential to accomplishing an objective and reaching a goal.
Although dreams are powerful motivators, goals must be specific, realistic, and achievable. Also, to be effective, they need to be broad and exciting. When you focus on a goal, you should feel motivated, energized, and ready to spring into action. At the same time, the goal must be modest enough to be within your reach. Finally, the problem is often not the goal you set for yourself, but how you follow-up