Leaders must know where they are going if they expect others to willingly join them on the journey.
–Kouzes & Posner, The Leadership Challenge

Reviewing Your Goals

Can you believe we’re halfway through the year? They say as we get older time goes more quickly and we’re beginning to believe that!

It’s that time again; we’re half-way through the year and we need to take a checkpoint on our year to date successes, identify our struggles and what we’re losing sleep over, and prioritize our desired year-end results.

Hopefully, you’ve been reviewing your goals and development plan regularly. Have you missed or neglected any of them? Don’t let urgent issues derail you from “actioning” important issues.

While reviewing your goals do a mental check-in to determine if all of your behaviors are supporting the attainment of your goals. PeopleTek’s formula for success is VMGM=B  (Vision, Mission, Goals, Measures = Behaviors). Behaviors are the key to success!

While reviewing your goals validate that:

  • Achieved goals have been recognized and celebrated
  • Your organization has a talent retention plan
  • Leadership bench-strength exists
  • You are keeping abreast of changing times by developing and updating skill-sets (yours and others!)
  • Relationship enhancements have occurred as needed
  • Team members are intent on becoming more courageous leaders

How to Involve Your Team in Achieving Goals

  1. Conduct a review of how your organization is doing, and meet with direct reports to assess progress (or lack of). This includes having a formal one on one with each team member to review their goal accomplishments and update individual development plans. Address what training is necessary for individual career advancement, and what is required to create organizational bench strength.
  2. Provide feedback about how each employee can better help the company achieve its goals, and ensure all behaviors are aligned with realizing positive momentum.
  3. Make your one on one meetings a true dialogue; ask for opinions and advice for growth and how to attain goals. Discuss ideas for cost savings and waste elimination. Ask what they feel is working well, and why. Ask what is not working well, or what is impacting results and growth.

“A good objective of leadership is to help those who are doing poorly to do well and to help those who are doing well to do even better.”
–John QuincyAdams

Tips to Stay on Track With Your Goals

As a reminder, IMPORTANT issues contribute heavily to our goals and objectives and have high value. URGENT issues require immediate attention but may or may not contribute to the success of meeting our goals and objectives. Here are some tips to help you stay on track with goals during the second half of the year and beyond.

  • Invest the time to assess what’s important; you will almost always have sufficient time for these.
  • Start your day with the important tasks instead of the “fast, enjoyable and easy to accomplish” ones.
  • Distinguish between urgent and important; help your team and organization understand this and engage other leaders if in doubt.  (Or help them understand the difference!)
  • Don’t let the priorities of others replace your own top priorities; learn to say no firmly and tactfully.
  • Recognize that readiness levels and skill-sets may need to be developed and honed.
  • Be willing to invest the time and resources that will enable you to be a highly successful leader and have a high performing team.

Don’t wait! Now is the time to set realistic expectations for what you wish to accomplish in the second half of the year. Wishing you success!

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