As a leader, you know one of your biggest responsibilities is to set the organization's direction and help it to achieve goals. You've laid out a mission and a vision for the organization and can talk about it at all levels. But should the goals that come from your level be ultra-specific, or should you create a set of general goals and allow the groups to help you meet them?
The first thing you must do is set a general vision for the organization. Without this general vision, all activity is lost in a cloud of uncertainty. The vision you set should be based in the reality of your environment and should be focused on how the organization will best service its clients. Your vision could be as general as, "to provide the highest level customer service in our industry, every time, with every customer". But at least you can be assured that each person, whether internal or external, will use that vision as an overarching theme for everything they do.
You've set the overall vision, but what about the goals within that vision? Is it up to you to create specific goals? In two words, yes and no. You must create some frame for the work that is going to occur over the next quarter, year, or even five years. For example, one of your goals for the organization may be to "increase market share to 50% over the next five years". Is the goal reasonable? Can the organization do it? Do you have the right people in place to execute the goal? If you answer yes to each question, you've got to sit back and try to let it happen. When it does, celebrate the results. When it doesn't, obtain input from the organization as to how they can be better prepared the next time. One of the other ways to help reach goals is to create a "stretch" environment, where celebration occurs for the increments of success. For example, you could say, "increase market share to 47% this year, 48% next year, 49% in 2011, and 50% in 2012". Each time the group hits a target, celebrate it as a step in the right direction.
The hardest part of this mentality is learning to curb your urge to be an "armchair quarterback". You should know how each group within the organization can help achieve the general goals you've set. You should also hold them accountable for the goals that their leader will set for them. But you've got to let them figure out how they can help the organization hit its goals - and let them run with it. In other words, make sure the leaders of each group know how to set direction on a smaller scale. Make sure those leaders know how to select and hire the right people to get the job done. And make sure you all stand out of their way when they get their momentum.
In this same manner, you must be aware of how the execution of your general goals will change based on the groups and the internal and external factors affecting them. Let them help you figure out how to let the goals evolve. Show them that you and your leadership team are open to suggestion, and that the people who do the work are the ones who generally have the best ideas on execution. The strategy you set, those general goals you lay out, should allow the groups to maneuver, use their expertise, and come up with new and improved ways of doing things.
By showing the organization that you are open to new ideas, you're encouraging the removal of traditional boundaries. When you set general goals for the organization, the groups will have to learn how they interact with other groups in order to keep the organization producing. In many organizations, especially large corporations, the walls around groups may have sometimes built up inadvertently and over lengths of time. Most of the time these walls are based on comfort, some fear, and the idea that the status quo is the best condition. As you show that you and your leadership team have removed walls, other groups will learn this, as well. Encourage groups to have cross-functional discussions on the execution of your general goals. In this environment, groups will maneuver to achieve, but you'll find that they may start maneuvering with each other, as well.
Set general goals and allow the organization to execute them. You'll see creativity, less boundaries, and an overall move to achieve your goals together.
Copyright 2009 Bryant Nielson. All Rights Reserved.
Bryant Nielson - Learning & Development Expert - assists executives, business owners, and top performing sales executives in taking the leap from the ordinary to extraordinary. Bryant is a trainer, business & leadership coach, and strategic planner for many sales organizations. Bryant's 27 year business career has been based on his results-oriented style of empowering.
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