It might be hard to believe, but we’re already nearly a quarter of the way through 2018. By this time, the New Year’s resolutions many of us have made personally have been forgotten or discarded. And for many leaders, the noble goals that seemed so inspiring—and achievable—at the beginning of the calendar year may have become sacrificed to the power and gravity of the status quo.

Organizational goals are notoriously tough to achieve. If your organization is failing to meet its goals, it may feel like you've failed as a leader. Or you may be inclined to believe that your people are merely incompetent which is also highly doubtful. When I look at the reasons why organizations fail to achieve their goals, it has very little to do with the abilities of individuals.

I believe that when organizational goals fall by the wayside, it’s because of the goals themselves, not the people working hard to set and achieve them.

Why Leaders Set the Wrong Goals

As a leader, you are under a lot of pressure to supply the inspiration and motivation for your organization to succeed. So, it should come as no surprise that the immense pressure you feel could cloud your ability to set the right goals. Sure, the pressure can act as a powerful, positive force, but when it comes to goal setting, it’s not always helpful.

Nevertheless, it's essential that you understand some of the pitfalls that prevent leaders from setting goals that are achievable, inspiring and capable of moving organizations forward.

They Adhere to Rigid Thinking
Sometimes leaders get set in their goal-setting ways. They review last year’s goals, see that they weren’t achieved, and recycle them for the new year anyway, thinking that this will be the year they finally try a new, successful approach. But their rigid thinking ensures that the same (non-) results happen.

They Have no Intention of Following Through
The “set-it-and-forget-it” method of establishing goals just doesn’t work. Too many leaders set lofty goals and then fail to gauge regular progress or check in with their people. And what’s most disheartening is that they don’t provide the examples required for their people to learn and make sound progress. Most of the time this is because they know in their heart of hearts that the goals they set aren't genuinely appropriate for their organizations. But those goals sure sound good!

They Don’t Consider the Talents and Skills of Their People
This is an especially sad one! Leaders sometimes become disconnected from the incredible talents of their teams, and it’s to their considerable detriment. They set goals based on imaginary or non-existent skill sets instead of basing objectives on the strengths that their people actually possess. Therefore, it’s critically important for leaders to take time to get to know and understand their people.

How to Set the Right Organizational Goals

I’ve detailed some of the mistakes leaders make when setting goals. Now let’s take a look at what you can do to establish the right targets.

#1 — Lay the Goal-Setting Groundwork
As I mentioned above, leaders often fail to get to know their people, which leads to setting goals that cannot be achieved. So, before you go about setting your goals, take some time to understand what’s possible with the people and skill sets that you have at your disposal. If you do not have the skills necessary to achieve the plan, then you have two options: recruit and hire people with the right skill set or revisit and adjust your plan so that you can meet it based on the skill sets that you do have.

You should also consider SWOT analysis, which means methodically analyzing your organization's Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Furthermore, I recommend performing research on what similar organizations are doing. What are the industry averages? Where do you stand in relationship to your competitors? What is market research telling you?

Doing your homework before you set goals and objectives will go a long way in helping you and your people achieve them.

#2 — SMART Goals Work
Yes, the good old SMART goals framework that has never let us down can make it much easier for you to identify and streamline your process.

Just in case you are not familiar with what SMART stands for:

• Specific — Goals should be informed by a sense of clarity regarding what needs to be achieved.
• Measurable — If you can’t measure success or progress, how will you know if you’ve achieved it?
• Achievable — Do you have the resources, talents, time and budget to make success happen?
• Relevant — Are your goals realistic and results-oriented?
• Timely — Goals should be achievable within a reasonable timeframe.

Let’s say your goal is to grow your customer base. Make it specific by attaching an actual number to it. For example, “I want to add 100 new accounts every quarter.”

Make it measurable by establishing a means of tracking your progress. How many accounts did you have when you began? How many do you have now?

Make it achievable by paying attention to what’s actually possible. For example, if you currently have 500 customers, it would probably be unreasonable to expect to add 5,000 by the end of 12 months.

Make it relevant by understanding and conveying the ways in which the goal would positively impact your organization.

And make it timely by attaching a due date to your goal—"we need to add 100 new accounts by March 31, 2019.”

#3 — Be Flexible and Open
The speed of business these days is exhilarating and—let's face it—a little scary at times. The realities that are relevant to your business today will likely change quite a bit in a few months and will probably transform entirely in a year or two. Therefore, the way you approach goal setting should be nimble. You should be open to inevitable changes in your industry, personnel and the world at large. You can’t account for all possible futures, but you can use your recognition of our quickly evolving world to your advantage. Be specific, but don’t be so specific that your objectives become unrecognizable and irrelevant over time.

What Is Your Goal-Setting Strategy?

I’ve barely scratched the surface with my goal-setting advice; there’s a lot more I could say, but so much depends on the particulars of your respective organization. Ultimately, I think it’s critically important that you use your self-awareness and emotional intelligence to gauge the positive possibilities that are achievable by you, your team and organization.

I'm interested in hearing what's worked for you when it comes to setting goals—where have you been successful and where have you failed? And if you're interested in having a more in-depth conversation about organizational goals, Leaders Edge is here for you! Call me at 1-855-871-3374 or send me an email at joanne.trotta@leadersedgeinc.ca. I’m looking forward to hearing from you!

‍