Archive for March, 2009

Much is written about the benefits of setting goals and how they can transform individual and organisational performance.  While it is true that goals can make a real difference, they need to be meaningful.  What do I mean when I say that they need to be meaningful?

They need to focus on something that matters

Too often, organisations set goals that they think should rather than setting goals that they really care about.  When this happens, it might be due to the organisation losing sight of its core purpose or reason for being in business.

They need to be realistic

There are many differing points of view on what is realistic and what is not realistic.  Part of this realism test is about taking stock of where you are right now and whether the timescale that you have set for achieving the goal is believable to you and your team.

They need to measurable

If you are to set a meaningful goal you need to be able to measure whether you are on track or off track when it comes to delivering the anticipated results.  If you find that you are struggling to determine a way of measuring, it might be that you need to revisit your goal to make more specific and reduce vagueness.

Bottom Line – Goals that are meaningful can help you and your team achieve organisational success. So what do you need to do to make your goals more meaningful?

As a manager one of your primary goals is to get results through others.  So what mistakes might you be making in managing your team?

1. Not setting clear expectations
2. Not delegating work
3. Failing to provide challenging or motivating work for staff
4. Focusing all of your attention on getting things done without considering the needs of your people
5. Failing to stand back periodically and look for areas where you could improve how you work

Do any of the above apply to you and what else would you add to the list?

When working with groups on team working, one of the questions I ask is

” What are the success ingredients of great teams?”

Almost without exception, one of the first things on the list is having a clear goal.

When you have a clear goal that you can articulate and is understood by everyone in the team, the team has focus.  They know what they are trying to achieve and the goal mobilises them towards achievement.

If you lead a team, how clear are your goals? 

If they are unclear or are not compelling enough, what could you do to address this?

Bottom Line – If you want a team to deliver, make sure the result is crystal clear.

Ask most managers and leaders about continuing professional development and one of the things that they are likely to say is that they are lacking time to do it.

While reading the newspaper the other day I came across an article based on research by KPMG which staggered me.  Why?  The reason was that the research had found that people were spending 3 hours and 45 minutes on average per day watching TV!  That equates to something in the region of 26 hours a week and over a 100 hours a month.

Even using a fraction of this time to do some continuing professional development could make a difference.  For example you could:

• Listen to a podcast
• Read a newsletter
• Go to one professional association CPD event
• Study for another qualification

Take note of how much of your free time is spent on front of the TV and see what you could do instead to develop yourself as a manager or leader.

Setting goals is easy, right?  All you have to do is make sure they are SMART

Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Results orientated
Time limited

While SMART goals are an excellent start point, sometimes they are not just enough.

The key to setting goals is to define the results once the goal is achieved.  What will people inside and outside the organisation:

See
Hear
Feel
Notice
Detect

A simple technique is to get a piece of paper and draw a line down the middle.  Label one side now and the other side future.  Then write down 10 adjectives that describe the organisation now and when the goal is achieved in the future.

Have you ever noticed how often people spend a huge amount of time and effort getting a professional qualification, then forget about developing themselves?
It is a bit like having a winning lottery ticket and not bothering to collect the prize.

Some of the excuses for not continuing to develop yourself might include:

1. Lack of time
2. Lack of sponsorship or budget within your organisation
3. All of the events are too far away
4. The topics are not interesting
5. They are covering things I don’t need right now

Truth is:

1. If you spent an hour a week on continuing professional development you would be doing more than most
2. The internet has opened up a whole range of possibilities for short, sharp and free learning
3. You can now do a lot of development activities from your office desk or the comfort of your own home
4. If topics are not relevant let people know who are organising events what you need most
5. Development is not just about the here and now it is about the future

Bottom Line – A professional qualification is the passport to your success. Continuing professional development helps you realise the potential of the passport.

Having sufficient time is often cited as a key challenge for managers and leaders.  So what are 8 quick tips you can work on straight away.

Tip 1: Get clear on your goals

Tip 2: Think clearly, calmly and positively

Tip 3: Stop moaning about the circumstances and start taking action

Tip 4: Say no when you really cannot take on anything else

Tip 5: Take breaks and try to get some exercise

Tip 6: When you are working, focus on working

Tip 7: Tidy your desk so that you can find things quickly

Tip 8: Tackle the time bandits who steal your time

So what other tips would you add?

If you are a manager you are likely to have to produce reports from time to time.  This might be a report on performance of your function, division, team or project.  Alternatively it might be a case for resources.  So what questions do you need to ask when it comes to preparing a report?

Question 1: Why am I writing the report? 

Seems like an obvious question but one that is often overlooked.  Is you report to inform, provide evidence, get a decision, influence others or something else?  Always start by being clear on the purpose of the report.

Question 2:  What does the recipient want to know?

Step into the shoes of those who are receiving the report.  Ask yourself, if I was sitting in their seat, what would I want to know?  Write down all of the possibilities until you cannot think of any more and then make sure your report answers them.

Question 3: What’s the best way of presenting the report?

Is it best to have a written report, several pages long with an Executive Summary at the start or is it better to have a simple dashboard?  It will depend on the circumstances and the easiest way of finding out is to simply ask those receiving the report what they would prefer and then provide it.

Bottom Line – Reports are often produced with little thought about the purpose or the audience.  You can easily avoid this trap by asking and answering these 3 simple questions.

If you are a manager or leader, you need to be able to get results through others.  There is only one of you and you cannot be brilliant at everything, even if others believe you should be.

In truth, managers and leaders sometimes fall into the trap of getting the best from others.
One of the biggest barriers they create that prevents others being at their best is not giving people the chance to fail.

Think about it, people will only become competent through practise and application.  No one ever became an expert at anything just by reading, listening or watching.  If it was that easy we would all be experts at a lot of things.

So if you want to bring out the best in others give them the opportunity to get new experience, take on new challenges and bring their own uniqueness to the fore.  After all what’s the worst that might happen- they might fail.

You might have believed that when you became a Director, life would get a whole lot easier.  In reality, it is quite the complete opposite.  So what are the realities of being a Director in an organisation?

Reality 1: Everyone looks to you

People and employees in particular often regard Directors as being the people in the organisation who can solve any problem.  While they can generally find a solution as a collective group, there is a real risk here.  If you allow employees to bring all of their problems to you, they will stop trying to solve their own problems and just come to you for all of the answers.

Reality 2: You become inward facing

In all the hustle and bustle and in situations where you are under pressure, it is all too easy to become inward facing.  By that I mean you start to see solving internal problems as being more important than those who use or buy your products and services.

Reality 3: You end up playing at least two roles

Maybe you imagined that when you became a Director you would be spending all of your time on strategy and driving the organisation forward.  While you will spend time on the strategic stuff, you will still find yourself heavily drawn into the day to day operational stuff.  The challenge is to find the right balance.

Reality 4: Your contribution is only valuable if someone uses it

If you are working across organisations and are from a functional discipline like Finance or Human Resources, you might have plenty of great ideas.  On the other hand you might find that CEO’s and MD’s don’t fully benefit from the contribution you make.  Maybe they feel insecure or worry that they will be shown up for not thinking of something themselves.  Aim to get your contribution heard and used to make greatest impact.

Bottom Line – To succeed as a Director and leader focus on making your contribution count and never lose sight of the external world.