How do you involve your team in goal setting and decision making?

Be sure only to involve only those who truly have a stake in the output of your team's efforts. You don't have to invite everyone to your meetings and to receive your updates.

I believe it's important to involve your entire team in your business by making them a part of the goals and direction of your company. If they are invested in your mission and values they will take ownership and feel like they are contributing to the success of the company.

Although I think it is important to involve your team in decision-making, I also think it's essential to set expectations for who makes the final decision for goals and decisions. Let your team know directly-are you seeking input but you are the final decision-maker? Is your goal setting more democratic and the the final objectives will be exactly as the group discussed? Being inclusive in goals and decisions can be amazing if the appropriate expectations are set.

I love involving my team in setting goals for their department and also for themselves. I start by sharing the organization's goals and then ask each leadership team member to create cascading goals. These goals must follow the SMART goal model. In addition, they must contain lead measures. Each goal is then included on a scorecard that we update and visit each month. As a team, we can discuss how we can support each other in meeting goals and we also get to celebrate wins. A couple of weeks ago, we exceeded a small milestone of shipping around lunchtime and decided on the spot to celebrate with burritos from a local restaurant. The team is energized when they get say so in the goals and in how we celebrate.

If there is one aspect of the SMART framework that people often miss, it is the idea of "measurable." An outside objective observer should be able to confirm that your goal has been met.

Absolutely, if you do not have a clear and specific goal then you cannot measure your success which would ultimately lead to achievements.

SMART goals are great goals AND sometimes picking items that are most specific and easy to measure leaves qualitative aspects off to the side. Qualitative outcomes can be more difficult to measure, but I think it's essential to do the work to figure out how they figure in and establish some ways to measure them. If you don't, you could be sacrificing essential values to your brand and your culture.

Collaborative decisions need to allow for all voices to be heard! What that means is that even though we say we listen to everyone, we don't always do that! When you invite your team around the table, be sure to check in with everyone and give each single person time to talk, respond and come forward with ideas without judgment. No interruptions and no slamming anyone for a wild idea. Supported people will work harder and do more for a team than those who get shut down constantly!

Making collaborative decisions gives you an opportunity to really step back and examine the diversity of your team. Do you have the variety of people and perspectives and experiences and ways of thinking that would create an outcome even greater than you might have envisioned? Sometimes inviting another person or two to the table expands the thinking and possibilities in exponential ways.

Coaching your team is most effective when you have consistency, when feedback is delivered close to the situation it applies to, when you have a regular rhythm so your team members know what to expect. Understanding your team member's vision for themselves can also help amplify your coaching as you learn to relate their developmental opportunities to what they want, in addition to your vision and the company's vision.

Normalizing barriers and changes goes a long way in setting expectations with a team. Letting your team know up front that you, and they, are likely to encounter barriers makes a big difference. When you set the expectation that barriers will arise, the team can more effectively navigate the situation rather than resisting it.

As you reflect on your own performance, the more you feel comfortable sharing with the team the better. A team who feels like their leader is on the journey of mutuality with them goes a long way in establish respect and trust. You are literally modeling the behavior you want them to have in learning to be comfortable assessing themselves.