5 goal setting tips for CEOs
A Model for Goal Setting
During your lifetime, you have likely set personal and professional goals for yourself thousands of times. While goal setting for yourself can range from everyday tasks (such as completing routine assignments on time) to complex (planning your investments), the parameters for goal setting in the workplace are much more structured and involves many more people. As the CEO of your organization, you will find that transforming your organization through goalsetting means collaborating with your team. In this article, I'll share my experience as an executive coach and the insight I've gained in speaking with CEOs on achieving workplace goals.
A goal's inception often results from a planned or reactive response to a specific event. Sometimes, these goals are spurred by high-level strategic or business plans based on internal or external influences. You or your board members might commission the drafting of the goal and the implementation plan. But regardless of its origin, the goal is now your responsibility for communicating and ultimately transforming the organization. As these newly-set goals funnel throughout the organization, they become established, and your executive team will look to you to set the organization on a steady course (for ideas on how CEOs set their goals, take a look at this 2018 roundup article in Business Insider Australia).
The plans to create and implement workplace goals are often set in place for the entire organization, certain job classifications, or business units. They are tied to a strategic plan and budget. Organizations often use the popular SMART goals method as a model for a significant starting point. The SMART goals acronym stands for S: specific, M: measurable, A: achievable, R: relevant, and T: time-based. The SMARTER Goal model, coined by Michael Hyatt (S: specific, M: measurable, A: achievable, R: risky, T: time-based, E: exciting, R: relevant) with its additional nuances is preferable to some executives. The use of these goal-setting formats is due to their proven track record of achievement and success.
Listed below are five steps to achieve transformative goals within your organization, specifically for your team.
Plan and Visualize Outcomes
When it comes to setting goals, as the saying goes, "Begin with the end in mind." What is the goal that you are trying to achieve? What will it look like when you reach your goal? Successful people often use visualization in their quest for personal transformation or to optimize their health. As noted in The Balance Careers.com, "What will your achievement feel like?" For example, what will it feel like to lower your blood pressure by 25 points, become a more patient and effective parent or loving spouse, a more powerful speaker, or an effective team leader? Dr. Lynn Hellerstein speaks about the power of visualization and teaches parents and teachers to "See it. Say it. Do it." Likewise, executives must be able to see their plan clearly, and then articulate, communicate, and implement their envisioned achievement. The goal outcomes must be crystal clear and deeply felt by you to remove any conflict or misunderstanding when you share it with your team.
A positive approach to visualization is to incorporate meditation as part of your goal achievement. A 2017 Forbes.com article, Meditation for Manifesting Your Dreams – and Accomplishing Your Goals, gives the how-to steps of meditation to "put you in the mindset of success." Take the time to close your eyes, see your accomplishment, and feel those positive emotions. Now, you are ready to tell your team all about how the new goals will affect them.
2. Encourage Communication
As leaders, we need to say it and write down our goal in the first-person present tense as if it were a current reality. For example, you could write, "I am an effective team leader who is respected and appreciated by all my team members because I recognize the achievements of others, and also provide constructive feedback when and where it is appropriate." By using this technique before sharing your new organizational goals, you ensure your message to the team will be strong and clear. Sharing your goal and plans in this confident manner conveys your conviction that the goal is already a reality.
Collaborative discussions between you and your direct reports about goal achievement will often yield constructive feedback. Be sure to praise, recognize, and reinforce the right ideas regarding the new goal or goals you hear from other team members during all-staff meetings or workplace conversations.
You might notice a team member was much more confident and dynamic in a recent presentation regarding the goals. Go beyond saying, "Great idea!" in meetings with someone who has contributed to your organization's betterment and the furtherance of the new goals. Your message requires a conscious, thoughtful follow up. This enhanced and genuine feedback adds depth and continuity to your communication.
Here are some examples of encouraging feedback you might say to a team member:
"Wow. You nailed that presentation! Your enthusiasm for the new goals and plans is outstanding."
"I appreciate how you've grown in your communication skills over the last year, and that is supporting the new goals and their implementation. Your hard work is paying off!"
"We need to get together soon and talk about your suggestions. I can see where we can apply it in our customer service department, and it will increase customer retention and sales, which is part of our new goals."
Your team member will feel validated and motivated by your recognition and feedback, which will be positive for the growth and success of the new goals and your team mmbers’ professional development. As Ken Blanchard, author of The One Minute Manager, says, "Feedback is the breakfast of champions." Finally, constructive feedback on achieving the goals should be encouraged by all staff throughout each step along the way. You want to create momentum and esprit de corp among employees toward the new goals. Hearing their ideas and concerns will foster this.
3. Be Authentic
A large part of implementing goals is understanding and believing in the goal you're planning on achieving. Ask yourself, do you sincerely think it will be beneficial to your organization? If you have concerns or doubts, first seek to understand all components of the projected outcomes and seek advice from other trusted advisors; this might include your internal legal counsel or subject matter experts. If your doubt shows, your message will not go over well with your team. In this case, you'll likely need to reboot back to Item 1 – Plan and Visualize Goal Outcomes. You will want your message to others to be congruent with your mental and emotional state, as well as your personal and organizational values.
Here is a tip that I've shared with other CEOs on delivering goals with authority. Be clear on what the results of the goals will be and why those results are essential. Once this is clarified, you will have accomplished a practical step in the goal-achievement process. Research shows that having a clear positive picture of your goal's results will generate positive emotions, thus reinforcing your commitment to the goal and your team's motivation. Many Olympic champions report using these steps thousands of times, including seeing themselves standing triumphantly on the winner's stand with their medal. Try this yourself by visualizing the result of the successful accomplishment of your new plans and goals. Allow yourself to bask in the warm success that you and your team have achieved. Reflecting on your successes will help your presentation and encouragement of the new goals be truly authentic.
4. Implement Plans
When you roll-out the plans for your goals, develop a schedule for when you want to implement them. Since your team members contributed and invested in the development of the goals and the implementation plans, they are already excited to work on these goals with you! Having a schedule or timeline with quarterly milestones is an essential tool in exhibiting the components of a goal. The implementation of your goal should be transparent and can be used as a singular reference point for discussion purposes with your team.
During this phase, work collaboratively within your organization to consciously seek opportunities to build up the team to launch the new goals. Report on the status of the project regularly and ensure that all organizational team members at all levels know that the executive staff appreciates their contributing efforts. Studies have shown that employees become more vested in the organization when they know their contributions have been recognized and appreciated.
5. Celebrate Achievements
Celebrate your wins! Your results will impact the organization and the team in many ways. I'm sure that teachable moments may have existed when you and the team might have doubted goal achievement would be possible! But now, the achievement is a beautiful reality. As the CEO, plan for this moment beforehand by having a company-wide celebration or within each business unit. Also, check with your human resources team to find out what recognition programs are appropriate to celebrate your goals and their achievement. Celebratory ideas might include:
•Certificates of participation
•Decoration of the physical desks or virtual workspaces of employees who helped make the goal a reality
•Mention of the accomplishment in an employee's annual performance review
•Statement of the accomplishment in the online newsletter
These celebrations will mean the world to team members who are looking for sincere appreciation and possible promotional opportunities.
Conclusion
Successful goal setting strategies that CEOs implement in their organizations involve many facets involving planning and visualizing outcomes and communicating with their team members. In having a solid plan for your goal, the organization benefits from your efforts to create and sustain a positive, interactive, and collaborative environment.
For more information on how to set goals in the workplace and/or executive coaching, please contact me and schedule your FREE 15-minute discovery call.
