As a project leader, you want your team members to achieve their goals and deliver quality results. But how can you help them set and track goals that are realistic, measurable, and aligned with the project vision? In this article, we will share some tips and tools that can help you mentor your team members and support their goal-setting and tracking process.
Goal-setting is a key skill for project success. It helps team members clarify their expectations, prioritize their tasks, and monitor their progress. It also helps them stay motivated, focused, and accountable. By setting goals, team members can align their individual contributions with the project objectives and the stakeholder needs. Goal-setting also fosters collaboration and communication among team members, as they can share their goals and feedback with each other.
Independientemente del área en que nos encontremos, creo que establecer objetivos permite algo fundamental: tener una base para saber en dónde estamos parados y hacia dónde vamos. Reconocer en eso nuestras fortalezas y debilidades resulta imprescindible para hacer el camino e identificar nuestros puntos de mejora.
Global tech leader in risk, cybersecurity, cloud and project/portfolio transformations.
First learn what are business/dept/team business capabilities and capacity (perform analysis if you don’t have them). Next get clear strategy from the top (if there is none or it constantly changes, be nimble and gather what you can). Then set your goals in alignment with above.
The SMART criteria is a popular framework for goal-setting, which stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. This type of goal is clear, quantifiable, realistic, related to the project purpose, and has a deadline. For instance, a web developer’s SMART goal could be: "Create a responsive landing page for the new product launch by the end of the week." To help your team members set SMART goals, you can ask questions such as: what exactly do you want to accomplish? How will you know if you have achieved your goal? Is it realistic and attainable? How does it align with the project vision and stakeholder expectations? And when do you want to complete your goal? By answering these questions, you can ensure that you are setting achievable goals with measurable outcomes.
Once your team members have set their SMART goals, tracking progress is essential to evaluate performance, identify challenges, celebrate achievements, and adjust goals if needed. To help your team members track goal progress, you can use a goal tracker app or software such as Asana, Trello, or Todoist. These tools provide visual representations of the goal progress and allow team members to create tasks, assign them to themselves or others, set deadlines, and mark them as completed. Alternatively, team members may prefer to use a more simple or personal tool such as a goal journal or spreadsheet. Additionally, a regular meeting or check-in with your team members will help them track their goal progress and share updates with you and their peers. During these meetings you can provide guidance, support, recognition, and constructive feedback. You can also discuss any issues, risks, or changes that may affect the goal attainment.
Using visual tools such as progress charts or dashboards can provide a clear and tangible way to track goal advancement. This not only helps keep team members accountable but also allows for timely adjustments or interventions if needed to ensure goals are met successfully. In my projects, incorporating these tracking methods has proven invaluable in maintaining focus, motivation, and momentum towards achieving our goals.
Considero que, sumado a las herramientas de gestión existentes (Trello, Airtable, ente otras), es importante conocer a las personas detrás de los objetivos. Para ello, las prácticas de Management 3.0 nos ayudan a gerenciar de mejor manera al núcleo humano del que se componen estos objetivos, y su uso debe ser parte recurrente del monitoreo que realizamos para asegurar el cumplimiento.
As a project leader, motivating and rewarding your team members for achieving their goals is essential for boosting morale, engagement, and satisfaction. It can also reinforce positive behaviors and outcomes, and inspire team members to reach new or higher goals. To do this, you should provide both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsically motivate team members by helping them connect their goals with the project vision and stakeholder value, giving them autonomy to choose their own goals, methods, and pace, and encouraging them to learn new skills or take on new responsibilities. Externally motivate team members by recognizing and celebrating their achievements, giving constructive feedback on their strengths and areas for improvement, and offering tangible rewards such as bonuses or gifts within the project budget.
Global tech leader in risk, cybersecurity, cloud and project/portfolio transformations.
Above anything do not use a tool to motivate. Lack of human connection/emotion will put over your best tool unusable. I’ve seen departments with 10s of people managed by 1 manager with the greatest HR tools in the world, if you been there you know. If you are in consulting, might as well skipping this section, but environment is not conductive to personal coaching and interactive motivation , btw best consultants do not need others they are intrinsically motivated.
Despite your best efforts, sometimes your team members may not reach their goals due to a variety of reasons such as unrealistic expectations, unforeseen challenges, lack of resources, or poor performance. To help your team members handle goal failure or setback, you should start by acknowledging and empathizing with their feelings. Then, analyze and learn from the failure or setback by identifying the root causes, consequences, and lessons. Finally, adjust and move on from the failure or setback by revising goals, action steps, and deadlines based on the analysis and feedback. Additionally, you can help them develop a recovery plan and set new or interim goals that are more realistic and achievable. Ultimately, helping them regain their confidence and motivation will encourage them to try again.
Global tech leader in risk, cybersecurity, cloud and project/portfolio transformations.
‘Hard back (to get as many lashes as you can withstand) and soft heart (to still be a person who enriches this world).” Everything else is tactics.