Have you ever heard it said that you cannot manage or improve what you cannot measure? As a leader, you may sometimes feel that you are simply throwing mud at the wall and seeing how much of it sticks. What if instead of this approach you could empower your team to set and to achieve measurable goals? How much more productive and fulfilled would your team be if you could set in place the systems to accomplish this? If you are looking for the solution to effective goal setting, here are three principles which can really get the job done.
First, you have to get a clear picture of where things are at the moment in relation to both activities and results. Measuring only results will not allow you to clearly determine how you are getting them and measuring only activity will give you no idea of what is working and what is not. It is also important to write down what you are finding so that you will have some kind of reference point to go back to in the future. Once you have a clear picture of where things are right now, you can bet that setting goals for the future will be much more productive.
Once this is done, it is time to examine the results in proportion to activity and see where the weak spots are. There could be things which your team is doing right now which are wasting time and energy and getting very minimal results. There also may be people working for you who are caught up in the thick of thin things in order to avoid the more important issues. This ?busy work? will become apparent as you measure the results in proportion to the activities and will empower you to redirect the efforts of the team towards things which are actually going to bear fruit.
Finally, set a long term goal and work backwards from it in short terms action steps. This will ensure that you have a long term objective and that you don?t fall into the trap of setting goals just to set them with no long term purpose in mind. The other thing which it will do is allow you to correct course along the way by the repetition of the first two steps of this process. As the smaller goals are assessed and readjusted, the more you can involve the members of your team the better. This will ensure that each person is involved in the process of achieving the team?s goals and that you will not be the only one creating the plan.
As this process is followed the most important thing to remember is consistency. Without consistency it is impossible to determine what is really working to produce long term results and what is not. Also, being inconsistent breeds uncertainty and uncertainty will almost always lead to the breakdown of your momentum. Be consistent in your both your actions and your measurement of actions and results. This will ensure that you will develop a process for effective management of your team?s resources.
StrengthsMapper is a impressive add-in for Mindjet’s MindManager mind mapping software program. StrengthsMapper allows users to create mind maps of personal strengths and team strengths. Create natural talents posters to share and communicate your best strengths. Managers can ignite team leadership and analyze team dynamics. Increase strength and vitality of teams. Visit www.strengthsmapper.com
