5 Strategies to Incorporate That Help Your Employees Achieve Their GoalsArticle written by Patti Mitchell
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Is your team falling more and more behind, overlooking tasks that require attention to details, missing important deadlines, or simply not aligned with your company goals?
Maybe, it’s time to develop and communicate an action-plan for your employees’ that focuses on how goals are determined, understood, created, and valued. Here are strategies to incorporate in your action-plan that engage employees’ plus drive goal performance that may just boost your business to the next level of success. 1. Create Short-Range Goals Break-up time, duties, and tasks into smaller pieces - Think of it like training for a marathon. You don’t start out by saying you are going to run 26 miles and see how it goes. You set goals in increments - by spring I will run five miles, by summer 10 miles, etc. Recondition ways that keep exhaustion at bay, practice a work smarter not harder healthy balance environment to reach mini-goals - this will help set a consistent pace and get everyone to reach the finish line. Big picture goals can cause pain and fail because they seem overwhelming. Mentally, it’s just easier to achieve goals if they are broken down into smaller pieces. Successful people master goals by doing what can be done by the end of day - end of month - end of quarter - until the total goal is achieved. 2. Multi-Tasking creates Multi-Frustration Frustration is a big energy drain. One of the number one reasons goals get abandoned is that employees are trying to accomplish too much at once. Sure time is money - but when mistakes are made then money is lost and when big mistakes get made then money goes out the door. Teach your employees to single task for quality and allow them the time to focus on one part of the goal at a time. Put time terms in motion - time to work - time to play - time to complete - everyone will be better off in the long run. 3. Communication & Collaboration Be open to discussions, give encouragement feedback and assist if need be. Remember your own goal is to help your employees achieve their goals. Sometimes it’s just that helping hand is what’s needed to get or continue their motivation. Be an adviser at your best and develop ways that employees can give support to each other or invite mentoring opportunities. Make it a priority to meet with employees on a regular basis to see how they are doing. Ask if they are having any problems or breakthroughs? If things are not where they need to be, don’t sugarcoat it. Be open and honest. If goals change, don’t wait to communicate. It is important to tell your team what has changed and why. People appreciate being informed plus it discourages any rumors to cycle or loyalty to fade. If employees’ goals are not on target then shift your strategy to problem-solving to begin focusing on solutions. 4. “Why” It’s Important to Everyone The main way to keep everyone - from executives to entry-level employees - focused on their goals throughout the year is to reinforce the big picture. How does each goal contribute to the organization? “Why” is this specific goal important in the bigger scheme of things? How will everyone benefit from accomplishing this goal? Effective leaders keep the emphasis on “why” the goal makes a difference to the company as a whole. Specific goals are fine, but don’t lose sight of the bigger purpose. Passionate people are driven by a cause, a purpose and a belief. Leaders who explain “why” everyone’s goals are important and “why” it’s important to everyone else - sets their business, projects, and employees up for success. 5. Celebrate - Accolades - Recognition Don’t wait until the entire goal is completed to celebrate successes. Give accolades for great performance and recognition to improvement - Each milestone is an accomplishment. By rewarding small victories - just like mini-goals - nurtures and inspires your team as well as gets things done more efficiently. Patti Mitchell, CEO Navigation-Point Professional & Management Development Training |
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