Posts Tagged ‘goal setting’
Wednesday, June 8th, 2011
Organizational goals provide the definition of purpose and the direction for an organization. Goals crystallize and bring life to the organization’s vision—its reason for existence. Organizational goals that are developed and executed properly foster organizational alignment and success through the three most critical components of an organization: Strategy, People, and Process.
As the overall goals are carried through every department, business unit, or division of an organization’s structure, they provide the cornerstone to the organizational structure. Organizational goals give you and your team something you can sink your teeth into, provide guidelines for achievement and recognition, and promote pride in the organization. A primary part of your job as a team leader is to communicate the organizational goals and their connectivity to the goals of your team or department.
The primary reason most organizations exist is to be profitable or to generate enough funds to implement their mission as in a not-for-profit organization. Goals provide the direction around which every part of an organization, as well as the various activities of the individuals within the organization, must be organized. When the physical, mental, and emotional efforts of all contributors are channeled toward organizational goals, the organization’s success increases dramatically.
Goals provide the organization with a tracking system and a means of recording its achievements. Too often, organizational goals are achieved but lost to memory by the reporting period. Recognizing achievements is a confidence builder. Past achievements can be a predictor of your future success.
Goals assist an organization in all decision-making processes. When an organization has defined exactly where it is headed, many decisions fall into place. All energies can be focused on discovering ways to get there, rather than deciding where to go. When goals are identified and action steps determined—it is much easier for all parts of an organization to align. Each part of the organization can weigh its own effort in terms of its contribution to the overall goals of the entire organization rather than to its own unique function. Goals help the members of an organization build unity of purpose. Therefore, communications improve and differences of opinion are shared more rationally because the team effort is directed at achieving common goals.
Well thought out organizational goals often become the basis of an organization’s public image. Publicly shared goals that convey confidence and success can help increase market share, customer loyalty, and earning potential. Customers are more likely to purchase from an organization whose image is that of an organization capable of describing its achievements to a vast audience—your employees and customer base.
Clearly defined goals will also help an organization anticipate, compensate for, and reduce the impact that outside forces have upon its operations. Goals help set into motion plans of action, which take into consideration a wide spectrum of possible obstacles to be encountered. By such systematic strategic planning, obstacles are either overcome or their efforts are greatly reduced.
A team with well-defined goals provides a framework within which your team members can set appropriate and meaningful personal goals. For success in today’s business environment, it is important that employees’ personal goals are aligned with the team’s and the organization’s goals. There is always a much stronger commitment to organizational goals when personal goals and needs are being fulfilled.
Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 30 years, RAC has specialized in helping businesses and individuals achieve high levels of excellence and success. Learn how at www.resourceassociatescorp.com or contact RAC directly at 800.799.6227.
Tags: goal setting, goals, organizational, personal, resource associate, Success
Posted in Goal Planning | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, March 30th, 2011
From June 11 to July 6, 2010, 642 U.S. students (ages 10-18) participated in the Gallup Student Poll. “The students were asked 20 questions meant to gauge their hope, engagement, and wellbeing—and then were classified as “ready for the future” if they scored high in all three dimensions. Gallup’s research suggests that students who do well on all three metrics tend to achieve higher grades, complete more credits, and report fewer health problems than their peers. The research is meant to help leaders and educators improve student performance and in turn the high school graduation rate nationwide.” – Lymari Morales
The Gallup study’s final conclusion: 34% of respondents in grades 5-12 are hopeful, engaged, and thriving—others fall short in at least one of these dimensions.
Part of what facilitates a hopeful, engaged, and thriving attitude is the ability for a student to see a bright future and feel confident it is attainable. Another important statistic from the Gallup poll is that 42% of the students polled said they were energetically pursuing goals. Life is a journey and it is the most important journey we as individuals will ever take. The sooner young people are exposed to the value of goals in all aspects of their life and are taught how to use a proven goal accomplishment model the sooner they will be “ready for the future.”
Seventeen years ago our company developed a youth leadership process entitled Rising Stars. It focuses on helping young people prepare for a bright future and be contributing members of their community, while exposing them to and teaching them how to use a proven goal accomplishment model. In addition to sharing the S.M.A.R.T.Y. criteria, which many people know is important to consider when building goals, we also focus on the six core components of goal setting.
- Listing your dreams. Every purposeful journey aims for a destination. Where do you want to go with your life? What do you want to accomplish? What are your overall objectives? What are your dreams? Listing your dreams allows you to develop a master list of things you want to do and become—as well as things you want to achieve and attain.
- Conducting personal self-evaluations. You can go wherever you choose on your life’s journey, but you can only start from one place. You can only start from where you are today.
- Developing goal categories. Once a springboard is created to clarify your dreams and you’ve identified your current starting point, the next step requires developing the categories of your life that you’d like to change and improve in order to realize your dreams. Goal categories provide an important step between your dreams and your goals, and they help you translate your general ideas and thoughts into action.
- Creating goal statements. Goal categories are then translated into specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time trackable goal statements that are solely yours (S.M.A.R.T.Y.). In our experience the more focused and specific the better.
- Developing specific action steps. The next step is to identify the actions you need to take in order to achieve your goals. Creating specific action steps will provide the daily, weekly, and monthly activity necessary to make your goals a reality.
- Prioritizing of your goals and action steps. Making a conscious decision through a prioritization process which goals or action steps are the most important. It is also a necessary step. The prioritization process will never stop, as you will need to continually evaluate what is important to your success now.
No matter your age, goal accomplishment is a life long process. It is rewarding to see young people embrace the concepts and apply them early for success in all areas of their life: school, home, career, health, and community. Goal accomplishment is the backbone of creating hopeful, engaged, and thriving lives.
Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 17 years, RAC has specialized in helping young people achieve success through youth leadership development and goal setting. For information visit www.resourceassociatescorp.com or contact RAC directly at 800.799.6227.
Tags: engaged, Gallup, Goal accomplishment, goal setting, Leadership, RAC, Resource Associates Corporation, Rising stars, students, youth leadership
Posted in Goal Planning, Youth Leadership - Rising Stars | No Comments »
Wednesday, August 11th, 2010
There continues to be a great deal of focus on organizational culture and environment. Whether you are focusing on that issue for the first time or whether you are looking at changing or improving an existing culture, it may be wise to remember that, like the long journey which begins with one step, an organizational culture is the cumulative effect of individual attitudes, values, and standards. Changing or improving the culture begins with a focus on the individual.
 How you genuinely feel about yourself, your worth, and the worth of others greatly influences everything you do and the results you achieve. How the people in your organization feel about themselves, their worth, and the worth of others will affect their achievements and the culture of the organization. Goal setting is a process that creates an environment in which people want to succeed and are recognized and rewarded for achievement. Another tool that can positively influence growth is affirmations. An affirmation is a statement that reinforces what you believe to be true. You use affirmations every day, both in thought and conversation. These are often ideas you have taken from some other source—quotations, scripture, and family sayings—which reinforce your values.
Such borrowed expressions only become effective affirmations when they correspond with your value system and internal beliefs. Once accepted and internalized, they lose their borrowed qualities and become part of you. The power of affirmations can be best recognized when we realize that the mind doesn’t know the difference between real and imagined. For example, suppose late at night, you imagine there is a prowler in your home. Are you less frightened than if you knew there was a prowler in your home? Certainly not. You are afraid because you imagine a fearful situation.
The use of affirmations to reinforce growth and improve conditions is an application of the same principle. Through the use of affirmations, you begin to imagine that you possess those qualities and skills that you want to develop more. You begin to visualize yourself acting and behaving in a manner consistent with your goals. As your new image becomes clearer, the behavior is easier. The use of affirmations is also an effective management tool. By affirming certain characteristics and behaviors and helping others to develop affirmations, you can enhance growth and development throughout the organization.
Affirmations should have the following qualities: they should be positive, stated in the first person singular, should be within the realm of capacity to believe, and should be directly related to your goals. Affirmations should also employ the power of spaced repetition. By repeating affirmations over and over, day after day, these positive thoughts begin to affect the subconscious mind and influence behavior. If, at first, affirmations seem difficult to compose and use daily, remember that you are developing a new habit. Once you see and feel the results that follow the repeated use of affirmations, you will want to use the tool with others. Affirmations help use to see others and ourselves not as we are but as we can become.
Create a culture in your organization in which failure is viewed as an opportunity to learn and critical to innovation and discovery. Recognize and reward new ideas, attempts to improve something, and even failure when it results in trying something new or an attempt to improve a process. Encourage innovation and utilize the goal setting process to get people to set stretch goals and brainstorm innovative solutions. It stimulates creativity, broadens options, and produces better decisions by looking at many alternatives and selecting the best.
Goethe said, “Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and help them to become what they’re capable of being.”
Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 30 years, RAC has specialized in business and management consulting, strategic planning, leadership development, executive coaching, and youth leadership. For more information visit http://www.resourceassociatescorp.com/ or contact RAC directly at 800.799.6227.
Tags: affirmations, culture, goal setting, Goethe, Leadership, RAC, Resource Associates Corporation, Success
Posted in Leadership | No Comments »
|
