Goals of a company can be achieved only when team goals and individual goals are aligned to them; hence, the vital role of goal setting in an organization. Employees perform best when they can see the connect between their contribution and the overall performance of the organization. Thus goal setting also serves as motivation for performing well. Goals provide clarity; clear road map, opportunity to measure performance, fix accountability and provide a sense of achievement when the targets are met. Goals enable the team to stay focused even when confronted by obstacles or disapointments on the way.
Clear goals provide the platform to the team and individual team members to prioritize their work, reduce distractions leading to better productivity at the work place.They enable the manager to give real time inputs to employees for improving performance. It is important for the manager to co-create the goals with the employee providing clear expectations followed by regular feedback and opportunities for growth and development. Extending support and guidance when facing obstacles is also an important part of the process.
In an earlier period, the goals or targets were set unilaterally by the manager. Today, it is set together by the employee and the boss so that the targets are realistic and achievable. Infact, we now speak about the need for the goals to be SMART( Specific, Measurable, achievable, realistic and time bound). There should be a balance in the involvement of the boss in terms of the ownership of the employee in the goal setting process. Too much spoon feeding on the one hand, could result in a reduced ownership by the employee. On the other hand leaving everything to him/her could end up in loose, unambitious targets. Stretch goals create a lot of energy and momentum . The manger needs to negotiate appropriately to arrive at achievable, ambitious goals.
Goal setting is a process of mutual communication that involves cocreating the goals , asking the team member how he/she plans to achieve it, breaking down goals into tasks and setting interim objectives. During the conversation you need to ask as to what support is required and what type of monitoring and feedback would be most helpful to the employee. The team member should get the message that we are partners in ahieving goals. Regular feedback and recognition is important and this need not be necessarily at review time or end of project.
Even as we focus on the performance goals, it is important that the development goals (learning and career development) of the employee is addressed. This includes improvement or adding of new skills, developing emotional intelligence, increasing team participation, improving communication skills, strengtening leadership potential etc. Although the primary onus for identifying these needs is with the employee, the manager can also give suggestions based on his/ her own observations. Appropriate training interventions or projects can be assigned to meet the such requirements.If the employee has certain personal goals like say interest to teach, opportunities can be given to serve as an internal faculty in the company's training programs.
Another aspect of the goal setting process is dealing with results. It is important to recognize and reward good performance. At the same time, when performance falls short it is equally important to discuss with the team member as to what went wrong and what can be done to avoid failure in future. The failure should be treated as an opportunity to learn. If the cause are factors beyond the control of the employee, do not dwell on it but move on, having understood the ground reality.
It is important for the boss to introspect on his own contribution to the failure if any. "Did you fail to check in frequently enough or do reviews in a timely manner?" A open discusssion as to what can be done next time rather than only blaming the employee, will elicit a positive response to do his/her best in future. It is also important to not ignore the high performers expecting them to deliver on their own. They also desire attention as also inputs & feedback to meet their goals effectively. In conclusion, goal setting is a very important activity of the leader. The time, effort and commitment given to the exercise will go a long way in determining the overall performance of the organization!
I hope you'll collect this series into a book. This will be useful to many.
ReplyDeleteThank you. Will consider doing that.
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