Two of the most important jobs for a manager to do is to set goals for the team and then hold them accountable for accomplishing those goals. Unfortunately, when a person is promoted to a manager, many companies do not provide training on how to do this. Newly promoted managers are often operating in a more reactionary mode trying to keep up with the workload that the team is responsible to deliver. Without common goals aligned with the organizational objectives, the team can quickly become caught in the day-to-day mindset of “firefighting” and fall short of delivering their part of the bigger organizational objectives.
Here are five tips for setting up your team goals and holding them accountable for results:
- Create clear performance goals that drive results. Leaders should understand that without clear goals, people will become task-oriented rather than results-oriented. Leaders need to give specific, measurable, and attainable goals to their team that ties the group into the bigger picture of the organization. These tangible goals should bring the team together as a more effective and collaborative unit.
- Gain employee commitment to establish goals. Once team goals are set, they should be broken down into individual SMART goals for each individual contributor. Dale Carnegie said, “People support a world they help to create,” so let them help create their own goals. Sit down with each individual and guide them as they develop their own goals, making sure they are aligned with the team goals.
- Remove barriers and provide resources to ensure progress and productivity. In a business environment that demands people do more, faster, and with fewer individuals, they may feel overwhelmed and/or discouraged. Leadership includes making sure the team is set up for success. So make sure that they have all the resources they need to accomplish their goals. This may include removing barriers that hinder progress. Barriers can be as simple as prioritization of the workload or more complex, such as poorly defined business processes. It is up to the leader to make sure they are on top of what is needed by the team to succeed.
- Hold team members accountable for results. Create a supportive environment that empowers the team to accomplish its goals. Make sure they have the authority to make decisions and move projects forward. This step requires trust from the leader to the team and vice versa. The team should not be afraid to make decisions and the leader should not micromanage the team.
- Ensure success through coaching, delegation, and recognition. Delegating projects or tasks help them to stay productive when the empowerment to make decisions is part of that delegation. Keep the team on track by coaching them in areas where they may need help through questioning. Take the time to recognize both the small and large accomplishments of individuals and the team. Recognizing their accomplishments helps them to see that their efforts are appreciated, thus helping to keep the team engaged.
To sustain success in today’s ever-changing business climate, leaders need to make sure their teams are aligned with the organization’s goals. Create an environment that helps your team to become goal-focused by using the tips above to set team goals and hold them accountable to accomplish results.
Interested in learning more, join us for a complimentary 1-hour webinar, Goal Setting, on January 19, 2021, at 9:00 AM.