Sunday, November 09, 2008
Don’t Set Time Limits on Your Goals
I’ve been a proponent of SMART goals for years. SMART is an acronym for writing your goal as Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Results-Oriented, and Timebound. In the last decade alone, I’ve taught hundreds of managers exactly how to create SMART goals for themselves and their team. I’ve advocated the necessity for including a time limit to ensure you have a concrete date in which to judge the goal as either ‘completed’ or ‘not completed.’
Then I got involved with a project - where I was not the leader (I don’t know why I’m compelled to tell you that) - which just concluded. An elderly aunt and uncle of mine are retiring to Atlanta. Many people came to help pack up their belongings, move furniture into a shipping container, and hug them good-bye one final time. To give you a better picture—there was a project timeline, a leader, and 13 able-bodied helpers. I began to notice lots of “down” time between packing and purging. Helpers starting to do their own thing when communication slowed down.
Let me get back to the time factor since this isn’t a blog on communication. I realized one of Murphy’s Laws came true—the project was completed in the exact amount of time designated for it. What else could this crew have accomplished if everything had been completed in half the time rather than what the project plan designated? That spurred my thinking around how leaders apply time limits in the workplace.
Consider these things that hinder goal accomplishment:
* Communication of the overall plan to team members who are added later
* Knowing what each individual is working on at any moment
* Identifying and implementing efficiencies in spite of the plan
* Listening to team members who have no immediate task and are observing
* Asking enough questions when delegating a task to a new team member
* Being comfortable in receiving advice when it goes against the project plan
* Managing generational differences during the project
* Rewarding and celebrating the achieved goal
Here is a suggestion: Stop setting a time limit on goals and see what innovations come from your team when you let them live up to their potential.
I’d enjoy hearing your viewpoint on this strategy. Now, I’m off to drive my uncle’s Buick down to Atlanta.
Until next time...live like you mean it!
Marjorie