Posts Tagged ‘setting objectives’

Reviewing the content on a group that I belong to on one of the major social media sites recently, I came across an interesting job advert. In a nutshell the recruiter was looking for someone who stood out from the crowd, was a self-starter and a good communicator.

Now it might have raised a bit of a chuckle and ideas in my mind as to what it meant in practice and it got me thinking about the whole way we communicate.

As a leader one of the keys to success is getting results through others. However before you can get results through others you need to specify what is required.

Perhaps you are thinking that it can’t be that difficult to do. You might well be right but how often do you see:

• Job descriptions that are so vague they are almost meaningless
• Employee objectives merely being a list of actions rather than measurable results
• Two people leaving a meeting with a completely different understanding of the next steps
• People reporting back and assuming that someone else was dealing with this or that aspect of a project.

We all know that vaguely specified requirements can lead to:

• Things not being achieved
• Resources being wasted
• Additional costs being incurred when adjustments need to be made to what already has been done.

So as a leader, if you want to get even better results and achieve more success, start:

• Specifying what is to be achieved in terms of results or outcomes
• Making it crystal clear who is responsible for what
• Setting clear and unambiguous deadlines.

The Bottom Line: Sometimes it is the simple changes that yield the biggest benefits. To be more successful, start by being specific when giving direction and setting expectations.

Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements helps professional people become great leaders and managers. Sign up for his free audio e-course Leadership Success at www.goalsandachievements.co.uk.

As a manager, you will more than likely be required to set objectives those that you manage.

So how do you go about doing this?

Think about what results are to be achieved

There are probably some results that your team has to achieve. Chances are the results will be dependent on all of your team delivering their specific contributions so make a point of linking personal objectives to team results.

Specify outcomes, not actions

Start writing objectives in terms of outcomes or deliverables. A one day reduction in the monthly reporting cycle is an example of a clear outcomes based measure. Reviewing the month end process is an action.

Ask yourself, can I measure this?

If you cannot come up with a way of determining whether the individual is on or off track in achieving the objective, chances are it is not sufficiently clear.

Get the other person to tell you what they think they are being asked to deliver

Seems blindingly obvious but I wonder how many managers use this strategy? Simply asking the person to play back their understanding of what you are expecting can eliminate confusion.

The Bottom Line

Truth is, setting clear objectives can appear simple in theory but is often a real challenge in practice.

For the exhaustive reference on working with, leading and managing teams, check out the special pre-release on my latest book. If you are serious about your team, don’t miss this special Click here for more details