Beyond resolutions: a guide to goal setting year-round
With the whole year set out in front of us, January is synonymous with setting resolutions, goals and ambitions. But we don’t all subscribe to a ‘new year, new me’ mentality when it comes to setting goals at work. A mere 20% of people regularly set goals for themselves, and what’s more, only about 30% accomplish what they set out to do. We can all relate to feeling energised by new intentions at the start of the year only for them to get left behind when the regular pace takes over. Plus, we all start to flounder without a clear sense of direction. That’s why intentional goal setting, year round, is essential for personal development, team morale, and organisational success.
So how can we set objectives that we, and our teams, can really stick to? How do teams and individuals who regularly set goals, and see them through, manage to do it? It’s not just because some people are more determined than others. When goal setting is prioritised, invested in and continuously supported by managers, anyone can thrive and feel motivated year round. It’s great for personal development but it’s also good for business as those with goals are 10 times more likely to succeed. Structured goal-setting will help your team to feel more connected to organisational strategy and purpose, too, because they understand how their individual role feeds into the bigger picture.
Here are our top takeaways to kickstart your year with a renewed approach to goal setting.
Work together
Sit down with your team or manager and shape your goals as a team. Using a coaching approach, draw out goals which people are motivated by and invested in. Taking the time to ask questions and coach people through the process means they’ll understand why these goals are important and the steps they can take to achieve them.
Why are we setting these goals? How will we achieve them? When will we complete them? What will success look like?
Clarify and specify
Make sure the goals you set are super clear. One way to approach clear goal setting is to split up the goals you set into categories. Organisational goals, which are tied into the organisational strategy or your business plan, role-specific goals such as improving a specific skill or owning a project and personal goals which could be tied to improving a soft skill such as building confidence, or personal development.
Less is more
Set no more than six goals. Having too many is overwhelming, and can make it difficult to prioritise.
Don’t wait for the annual review
The importance of continuous reflection and regular check-ins cannot be overstated. Some of the reasons people fail to achieve their goals are due to lack of commitment to the goal, inactivity, and failing to plan. These issues can be mitigated with ongoing support from managers in the form of regular, planned, coaching sessions and check-ins which draw focus back onto those goals time and again. These sessions provide a space to review successes and challenges regularly, giving space to ask for help, refine or renew goals, all throughout the year.
Head into 2023 with a resolution to put goal setting at the heart of your leadership style and organisational culture and say hello to your most productive, motivated, and successful year yet. Need extra support with performance management at your organisation? NKD’s solutions can make a world of difference to how you approach performance conversations, including goal setting, in a human and inspiring way, just like we did for ITV.
To find out more about our solutions, get in touch.