Goal-Setting Best Practices

FountainBlue’s January 8 Front Line Managers’ Online meeting was on the topic of ‘Goal-Setting Best Practices’. My thanks also to our panelists for their participation. 

Lori Kate Smith, Health Wildcatters
Shobhana Viswanathan, Automation Anywhere
JD Dillon, Tigo Energy (not pictured)
Lynn Marie Viduya, Intermedia

Below are notes from the conversation.

Goal-Setting is important all the time, every time, but especially important in times of great change. To optimize for impact, focus on the vision and mission of the organization and ensure that your team’s goals and your personal goals are in alignment with the corporate mission, vision and objectives.

Indeed measured outcomes should be mapped to these overarching goals, and when market/people/technology change happens, and goals need to be re-visited, the new goals must be checked for alignment with the organization’s strategic mission/vision/objectives.

• Communicating regularly within and outside the team will help create collaborations and help coordinate to achieve results. 
• Having clarity on your target audiences and the definition of success will increase the likelihood of success.
• Being clear on metrics – what to measure, what the commitment is, what the best case scenario is – will help everyone focus on driving results.
• Being clear on the variables which impact whether a goal is reached will help all parties coordinate and collaborate to shift configurations in order to reach identified results.
• Understanding the motivations of all parties will help you manage toward outcomes and build engagement.
• Create a common agenda, a common goal, and empower and engage stakeholders to contribute in specific ways towards achieving that goal.
• Understand the market needs and focus on the markets which best sustain your products and services in the short term and for the long term.
• Base goals on the needs of the customer.
• Treat your people well as you help them achieve their goals. Make sure that they have the resources and support they need, and that they are realistic about what they can achieve, particularly with current work from home mandates.
• Measure your performance through OKR frameworks (objectives through key results), QBRs, etc.,

Make sure that the goals you’re targeting are in alignment with your personal needs, those of your team, and those of your organization.

Notes from the discussion are available at  

and attached is the slide deck.

Resources

• McKinsey, Jan 2021: The next normal arrives: Trends that will define 2021–and beyond
• McKinsey, Jan 2021: The future of business: 2021 and beyond
• McKinsey Jan 2021: Role Descriptions | Denmark
• McKinsey Jan 2013: A personal approach to organizational time management
• CNBC, Oct 2020: What the Workforce will look like in 2025 as it morphs due to the pandemic  

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