Setting Clear Goals and Expectations

In this series of articles, we explore 8 Key Leadership Skills that the best leaders I’ve had the pleasure of working with (or for) have demonstrated:?

1.??Highly effective communication

2.??Ability to inspire and motivate others

3.??Effective at leading change

4.??Prioritise developing, coaching and mentoring others

5.??Set clear goals and expectations

6.??Empower their workforce, including effective delegation

7.??Develop a winning team

8.??Able to make hard decisions

In this article, we will focus on the fifth skill, “Set clear goals and expectations”.?Without your team or organisation clearly understanding goals and expectations, there are a range of issues that arise within the workplace including:

• Uncertainty about what individuals should or could be working on
• Duplication of work efforts leading to inefficient use of resources and even team conflict
• Increased stress amongst employees, which impacts not only performance but also creativity and efficiency
• Difficulties with judging performance over time
• Increased difficulties with coaching individuals because they don’t know they aren’t meeting expectations
• The leader taking on the work as they consider it easier to do it themselves

Follow these 8 helpful steps to ensure you are setting clear goals and expectations with your team or organisation.

1.???Identify where expectations are required

The first step is to give some consideration to areas where setting clear expectations is required.?Start by reflecting on your own experiences (as a leader or a team member) and think about what values and attitudes you’ve observed in a successful team.?You’ll likely come up with a list of considerations such as trust, respect, honesty, collaboration, accountability…just to name a few.?Consider what policies and/or procedures are relevant – which ones are mandatory and critical to the success of the team or the company.?Think about the skills within your team – are there gaps or areas for improvement??What are the focus areas for the team or are there some particular performance expectations including deliverables and timelines??Start with consideration of the team as a whole…but remember you will also need to provide specific expectations that may vary between individuals within the team.

2.???Co-create goals and expectations

In the last article in this series, Developing, Coaching and Mentoring Others, we looked at the power of coaching where it is possible to get strong commitment from an individual when they are provided with the opportunity to develop their own strategies and actions.? This same principle can be applied when establishing goals and expectations.? Without a doubt there will be certain expectations or performance goals that will be non-negotiable. ?However, now that you have a list of areas where you think expectations or goals are required, see if there are any that you could open up to the team for discussion.?A great example is developing the core values of the team.?Get the team together to co-create an outline of how the team is going to work together – what are the values/attitudes/culture that they want to be a part of??You may be surprised with the results, particularly the buy-in and commitment that will result if they can see the fruits of their labour being implemented.

3.???Make goals SMART

In addition to expectations of how the team is going to conduct itself and policies or procedures that need to be followed, there will be a need to set some performance targets or goals.?The setting of goals is another activity where co-creation (discussed in Step 2) with the team can provide major benefits.?As you think about or discuss goals, its important to remember the really helpful acronym SMART:

• Specific – the goal should be clear and specific to provide focus and motivation.?Consider what is to be accomplished, why the goal is important and who is involved or responsible?
• Measurable – the goal needs to be measurable so that progress can be tracked.?This helps to stay focused and to meet deadlines.?Consider what can be measured and how will you know when it is accomplished?
• Achievable – a goal needs to be a stretch target in order to motivate people however it also needs to be realistic.?Consider how the goal can be accomplished and how realistic is the goal factoring in any constraints?
• Relevant – the goal needs to matter to the individual or team who is chasing it.?Consider if the goal seems worthwhile, is it the right time, does it match other goals or efforts in place and is this individual or team the right one to achieve the goal?
• Time-dated – the goal needs a target date to focus efforts on its completion.?Consider when you need to achieve the goal and is it achievable?

Its also important when establishing the goal to utilise positive language i.e., record what you want as opposed to what you don’t want.

4.???Make sure expectations are clear to yourself

So, you’ve followed Steps 1-3 and you now have a list of expectations and goals.?Before you go any further, it is essential to make sure that they are clear to you!?You must be able to firstly understand every expectation, secondly be able to explain them clearly and concisely and thirdly be sure that you are able to sign up and live these expectations yourself.?In the second article in this series, Inspiring and Motivating Others, we talked about an inspirational leader being committed to their values and being authentic – “walking the talk”.?This is so important when it comes to expectations – the leader must be leading by example.

5.???Communicate clearly, concisely and regularly

You are now clear on the expectations and goals that need to be set and if you’ve included some co-creation in the process, the step of communicating these should be a little easier.?Its incredibly important to communicate early – don’t wait until expectations aren’t met or even worse, assume that people “just know”!?Have a carefully considered plan for how you are going to communicate.?Focus on the “what” and “why” – explain to the team why certain expectations have been set and how they benefit the objectives or purpose of the team or company.?To avoid demotivation, let the team work on the “how” – they may come up with a more creative or efficient way!?Be clear on what is fixed versus negotiable e.g., a required completion date may be fixed but there might be some flexibility in an interim milestone.?Consider whether you need to do some practise runs ahead of time to ensure you are able to deliver any required messages simply, clearly and concisely.

Its likely that the best place to start your communication efforts is with the team.?Remember that you need to get the buy-in of your team or organisation so your communication with them needs to be two-way – avoid a monologue.?Provide them with the opportunity to ask questions and throw in some questions of your own to seek feedback.?Ensure that the expectations and/or goals have been understood.

Be sure to put expectations and goals in writing.?This can be done in an email but also consider posting them somewhere visible to the team.

One-on-one discussions will also be important – these can be an opportunity to reinforce the team expectations as well as to focus on individual requirements or needs.?Understand the strengths and motivations of the employee by asking them for feedback on the expectations that have been set.?During ongoing regular discussions, assess their performance and provide feedback but avoid micromanaging.?Check-in with individuals regularly and ensure you provide support to remove any roadblocks.

6.???Understand your team members’ expectations of you

Leadership is very much a two-way street.?Its important now to understand what expectations your team members may have of you.?Ensure you engage with them during group discussions as well as during your regular one-on-one connections and seek feedback on how you can support them.?It is a given that you will need to demonstrate the same values, qualities or attitudes that are inherent in the expectations that have been set.? However, there are potentially other actions you can take to support your team and set them up for success.?I can recall a personal example when my team came to me and said they were receiving excessive requests from other managers, and it was impacting their ability to get their work completed.?While we were a team that provided a service to a large number of managers and teams within the organisation, we still had a core function to complete, otherwise support to these same managers would suffer.?Together, we were able to devise a strategy to reduce distractions, streamline requests and still provide the support the other managers were seeking.

7.???Seek buy-in and commitment

You have now communicated expectations and goals and are doing so regularly, utilising multiple formats including written, group discussions and one-on-one conversations.?Clear communication and ensuring your team or organisation understand what is required of them is a big first step towards seeking buy-in.?Similarly, if you have included some co-creation along the way, this will have assisted the buy-in process.?During discussions with your team, be sure to ask team members how they will hold themselves accountable.?Finally, it is essential that you lead by example – make sure you are living the values or desired attitudes and demonstrating a positive approach towards achieving targets and goals.

8.???Provide feedback on progress and celebrate successes

Finally, you need to keep expectations and goals front and centre for the team (and individuals).?Make sure you refer back to them regularly during meetings and review progress.?Consider assigning team members with ownership of providing updates on any progress they have made, including an outlook when the team might achieve their goal. Provide feedback of your own – encourage desired behaviours when they have been demonstrated by the team as well as communicating any required “course corrections” if there has been any deviation from expectations.?Be sure to know what success looks like and celebrate achievements as they arise.?As we discussed in the third article, Leading Change, ensure you have some short-term wins that you can celebrate on the way to achieving larger goals.

It is essential that a leader is able to set and communicate clear expectations and goals.?As Brene Brown states in her fantastic book, Dare to Lead, “Clear is kind.?Unclear is unkind”.?Follow the steps above and you should be well on your way to being kind!

Simon Leighfield