How can you help leaders set challenging but achievable goals?

It’s essential to strike a balance between ambition and realism. Begin by understanding the unique strengths and capabilities of your team, as these are the foundation upon which ambitious goals can be built. Encourage leaders to dream big, to envision a future that stretches the boundaries of what seems possible today, but also ground these aspirations in the practicalities of available resources, time, and expertise. Foster a culture of open communication, where goals are discussed and refined collaboratively, ensuring they are ambitious enough to inspire, yet realistic enough to be attainable. Setting such goals is not just about achieving targets, but also about the journey of growth and learning, both for themselves and their teams.

Setting goals that are challenging but achievable is like a finely crafted recipe. It needs just the right balance, or you end up with a culinary mess! A colleague Max, was a true goal-setting guru. He led a team to conquer ambitious targets by breaking them down into bite-sized milestones. By celebrating each milestone, the team stayed motivated while inching closer to the ultimate goal. To make it work, aim for the Goldilocks zone—not too easy, not too hard, just right! Secondly, use the SMART approach—make those goals Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Setting the right goals isn't a guessing game; it's an art. Find that sweet spot, break it into steps, and watch your team rise to the challenge!

The SMART framework is solid; however it's good to remember that it's just a starting point. For it to be more effective, encourage leaders to align goals with their core values and company culture. This ensures motivation and relevance. Additionally, challenge them to think beyond SMART by incorporating 'Stretch' or 'Moon Shot' goals. These are ambitious targets that push their abilities and get them to aim higher. Also, consider flexibility. SMART goals are often set at a time when there's high uncertainty as to what's realistic. Strict adherence to Time-bound elements can lead to undue pressure. Instead, adapt timelines as needed while maintaining focus on the end goal. SMART goals are indicators of progress, not a strict rulebook.

I recommend to set "stretch-goals". While ensuring that your goals are achievable, don’t shy away from setting stretch goals that push the boundaries of what’s considered feasible. These goals should challenge your beliefs and motivate you to reach beyond the usual limits.

In my experience, setting and achieving challenging goals becomes a lot easier when following these 5 steps: 1. Find Your Why A compelling purpose fuels motivation. Always ask, why are we doing this? 2. The Power Trio: Vision, Mission, Values Vision guides, Mission plans, Values lead. Together, an unstoppable trio. 3. 90-Day blocks Break goals down into 90-day deliverables for manageable, tangible progress and more frequent wins. 4. Check-Ins: Monthly, Weekly, Daily Monthly, weekly, and daily check-ins create a rhythm of progress, keeping everyone in sync. 5. Cascade Effect Goals should flow through every level, creating ownership, purpose, and unity.

Short-term goals are important to celebrate quick wins which will keep you engaged and motivated. Long-term goals align with the bigger picture. If possible, try to break down the long-term vision into short-term goals.

This one is really important and very easy to inadvertently reinforce mediocre performance. Celebrating success and learning from failure must be done using specific details. What exactly went right and why? What exactly was missed and how / why? Good job and Well get it next time do nothing for performance. Getting to the details allow you to drive improvement.

This is very crucial for long-term goals. Maintain the focus on the end-goal but allow yourself to assess and adjust according to changing circumstances.

I agree with this. Leaders need to be flexible and be open to new ideas. A tried and tested system is great but leaders cannot be rigid in a rapidly changing economy. Leaders must always be willing to test new ideas and challenge their employees to try new things.