Achieve your Resolutions

Last week HR Insider had 2 requests for guidance on drafting H2 goals, and although this particular article from John Glennon is about New Year’s resolutions, the lessons and take-aways about goal setting are relevant no matter what time you are making them.

Early into the New Year, year after year, many of us make promises to instill change in our personal lives. Whether it’s an effort to exercise more or read a book every month, it seems like just about everyone thinks about their individual goals and makes at least one of these resolutions.

While our intentions are good, the truth is that by sometime in mid-March, most of us have all but forgotten these “commitments.” In fact, researchers at the University of Scranton state that only 8% of people who make New Year’s resolutions are successful in achieving them!

Leadership teams should consider the following points when determining organizational goals for the coming year…

1. Make the goals specific and relevant. Many organizations commit to doing things differently in the New Year in order to infuse positive change, but they often fall short because they fail to outline the steps needed to make those changes come to fruition.

This can be a daunting task, but laying out a specific path to achieve company goals is critical to success.
If company goals are relevant, challenging and attainable, you will get buy-in from employees.

2. Track the progress of the goals you’ve set. It is important to revisit your list of goals and analyze progress to gauge whether or not you are advancing. If you are making progress, be sure to celebrate those victories. If you are not, determine what isn’t working and implement specific adjustments to get back on track.

Not enough organizations commemorate the small victories on the journey toward each goal. As you reach certain milestones, those achievements should be celebrated!
This is as much about motivating your team as it is about honoring what you’ve accomplished.

3. Stay the course. Often when a company is struggling to reach its goals, it is because leadership has not given serious consideration to the steps above. When leadership loses sight of the prize or waffles on the best way to achieve success, the ripple effect can be devastating.

Sometimes when goals are not being met, leaders panic and change the action plan midstream. This sudden change in direction will inevitably be a major blow to employees’ confidence in the leadership team.
Keep in mind that changes to your company’s strategic vision only delay the completion of your objectives.

None of these steps are easy, but achieving organizational success rarely is. When building a leadership team, be intentional about getting the right people in the right positions. Leaders who can successfully motivate employees to reach a common company goal will benefit everyone. By following these steps, your business will have a much better chance of joining the ranks of companies achieving their resolutions this year.

John Glennon is the owner of Insight Sales Consulting Inc, an authorized Sandler Training Licensee. He can be reached at jglennon@sandler.com, toll free at 1-866-645-2047 or visit www.glennon.sandler.com