Goal Setting For Leaders and Managers
Albert Einstein famously said,
“If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.”
I couldn’t agree more. As a leader, setting goals is central to everything I do. And I believe this approach has helped me achieve many of my objectives and success.
Goal setting for leaders is an exciting topic – some of the world’s most creative and innovative leaders, on the surface, often seem to operate from a place of spontaneity and opportunity.
But make no mistake…they have always had a vision, a goal they were working towards. There are different kinds of goals, of course…the big over-arching goals that tower above everything and the daily goals that need to be achieved for the big vision to become a reality.
The key to success is in the goals we set and the plan we have to achieve those goals. These goals for managers will vary depending on what industry your team operates in, but the fundamental plan stays the same.
We have applied these learnings to the construction industry, where leaders and managers in construction need oversight of many contractors and need to keep many teams accountable.
Goal-Setting For Management
Most businesses use the ‘SMART‘ system – where our goals have to be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely. Based on our experience working with teams and individuals from around the globe, we believe the A-(Achievable)& R-(Realistic) force us to drop our expectations and shoot too low.
There is an excellent quote from the famous sculptor and artist Michelangelo.
“The problem humans face is not that we aim too high and fail but that we aim too low and succeed.”
At The Power Within, we like to make our goals exciting and inspirational, so we designed and adopted our SMIT goal-setting principle. It’s the application of this framework that is key.
“A good goal is like a strenuous exercise – it makes you stretch.” – Mary Kay Ash.
Let’s take the construction industry as an example.
Here are some examples of great SMIT goals for construction project managers.
Specific – Delivering a project on time and within budget
Measurable – A measurable step could be regular/weekly check-ins with the team: Keep it short; ask each time member to report the following 3 points:
1- What went well last week,
2- What did not go so well and
3- What can I do better next week
Inspirational – Think about how you can make the goal inspirational and exciting: What is the reward of getting it done on time? Put some feeling into the goal.
Timely – The project deadline and budget allocation are the end goal
This is a specific example to show how the SMIT framework can provide clarity and inspiration around goals, reduce overwhelm and support success…of course; this approach can be applied to a whole range of goals.
Goal-setting for leaders post-pandemic
In my view, there are some critical areas that construction leaders and managers should be focusing on and setting goals around as we emerge from the pandemic.
Sustainability: is vital for all businesses as the global energy transition continues. Sustainable businesses will be better placed for success in the future.
Resilience: I believe the pandemic has shown us the importance of resilience – we must plan for the worst in our businesses but work hard for the best outcomes simultaneously.
Adaptability: We must respond to our ‘new normal and ensure that we are responding to the changing world around us, embracing change and spotting opportunities.
Communication: This is more important than ever with the advent of remote working. Without excellent communication skills, leaders can’t lead in a way that motivates, inspires and drives a team to support them in achieving their vision.
“If you set goals and go after them with all the determination you can muster, your gifts will take you places that will amaze you.” – Les Brown.
Leadership and management goal-setting is something we specialise in at The Power Within. We have harnessed the power of goal-setting in our own business, and through our programmes, we now help other leaders maximise their success outcomes through effective and inspiring goal-setting.
Now, more than ever, businesses need clear goals and easy-to-follow plans. Take decisive action to execute those plans effectively and efficiently to keep up with our ever-changing world.
If you’re a leader or manager who has never set goals, or maybe you’ve struggled to achieve them, or you feel like you are constantly reactive and never planning, then we can help.
We specialise in leveraging the entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial mindset and performance psychology of motivational intelligence (MQ), the same motivation used by some of the most successful and iconic companies worldwide.
Leading With Motivational Intelligence offers all this and more with practical online lessons and ongoing coaching support.
Click here to learn more about how we can help you achieve your desired business success.
James Fleming
The Power Within Training
The Motivational Intelligence Company
#motivationalintelligence, #mentoring, #business #growth, #thepowerwithintraining, #traininganddevelopment, #energytransition, #construction, #leadershipdevelopment, #thecompletegame
