Teams that don’t keep their goal in front of them lose their way. Exceptional teams are focused – very clearly – on where they want to go. High performance teams keep their goals at the top of their minds at all times and never lose sight of them. Too often, however, once a goal is set it is stored somewhere in the back of people’s minds as the team puts its collective head down and focuses on the day-to-day tasks, stresses, and issues. Here are some tips to help ensure your team stays fanatically focused on their goals.
Stay Focused on Team Goals
Who would want to play a game if how to score or make points was not clear? There would be no purpose and therefore no motivation and certainly no fun in the game. In a work environment people also have to know what constitutes a score.
We often hear frustrated leaders say something like, “some of my team members complain that our direction is not clear but I talked about our goals at our meeting last month.” Goals must be kept in front of people, not just referred to sporadically. Keeping your team’s goals in front of them throughout the summer is key to ensuring that momentum and motivation are maintained.
Try these tips:
- Within the next 30 seconds describe what success looks like for your team. If you can’t do it chances are your team can’t either. If you are not able to, it is critical that you immediately spend some time drawing a clear picture of success.
- Write a one-line success statement clearly describing the goal your team is working towards. Share your success statement with the team. Before doing so you might invite team members to write a statement and then compare notes. Either way, enlist your team members’ commitment to using the success statement as a measuring stick for every decision and action.
- At your next team meeting invite your team members to identify three factors most critical to the team’s success. Engaging your team in these types of discussions is essential to creating team energy and commitment to the team’s goals.
- When did you last talk about your team’s vision, values, and goals with the people you lead? The answer you are looking for is “Today”.
Got questions? Contact Nicole to learn more.