Result-oriented Team Goal Setting Activities

Many people start team goal setting activity by thinking about the big picture they want to achieve in a year. Then, as any seasoned goal setter would do, they jot them down and break them into mini goals to make them actionable and achievable. Yet most people fail to achieve their goals because they identify the outcome with really analysing the underlying motivation of that outcome. Without knowing the motivation or intentions one makes it too easy to hibernate on it instead of working on them or let the goal sheet fall by the wayside when more important things come up, which always comes up!

Setting your team’s goal for a successful year means getting on same page with regards to what they’re really going for and why before making a list of achievements. If the team is really set to achieve big this year, give the goals the focus and time they need to reach by laying a better, deeper groundwork first.

Dream outside team’s desk!

Give yourself and your team a retreat to do vision for the new year at places outside the desk like – a trip to another city or a small walk to coffee shop, literally anywhere but the desks. Either way, the idea is to get out of normal work desks or cabins to dream, plan and strategize. A great way is to look at places where there’s no electricity – just books and diary or day planners. This will help in naturally bringing the focus to get inspired to draw the dream for the team and brainstorming while drawing the dream is the cherry on the top.

Here’s one way to come up with that big picture of team goals which are SMART and yield you greater results:

Step 1: Celebrate the Past

Goals are foresighted then why talk about past? This is because before looking at our bright future we need to duly consider the past success and failures. This means that we need to look back at our achievements. Being specific will do wonders to have a glimpse of the past this may include – deals cracket, how we cracked it, deals we lost, why we lost it, books read, certifications done, conflicts that were resolved and learning from that, etc.

Step 2: Paint the Strategy

If the team lead has done team goal setting and planning before, they must have written the big goals somewhere. It is now time to revisit with the entire team to see if it excites everyone as that of team lead. Please check if the goal is BHAG – colloquially known as Big Hairy Audacious Goal. These are bigger, bolder and more powerful than regular long and short-term goals. They require approximately 10 to 30 years of commitment, but are exciting, tangible and something that everyone is aligned to without any further explanation.

Step 3: Break them to Chewable Bites

This is where we kickstart with team goal setting – jotting down the goals and then strategizing on how to reach that goal. It is important to follow the step 1 and 2 and then come to this step as it helps in giving clarity of vision. Here, we work backwards to break the goal into small chewable bites which are actionable and achievable. This may be done by breaking it down to quarters, months, weeks or maybe days.

Therefore, by following the above steps we can pre-plan, strategize and execute the team goals effectively.