Consistent professional growth will not happen without being intentional. If you want to help your employees reach their potential, working with them to set effective goals can ensure the effort they put in will have results to show for it. Learn how to help employees successfully set goals with these tips:
Make the Connection to the Bigger Picture
For employees to both understand the importance of their individual contributions and maintain their motivation, you need to set goals that clearly connect to the bigger picture of the company’s overall objectives. Having a sense of purpose and a definitive answer to why a goal is important increases the likelihood they will stay on track and want to achieve them.
Ask for Their Input
Rather than telling your employees what their goals are, make it a collaborative conversation. Allowing your employees to provide suggestions on what they think would be worthwhile goals gives them more ownership of the results. Plus, their input can give you a new perspective on what goals would be the most relevant.
Focus on Realistic Growth
It is important to strike a balance between challenging your employees and not stretching too far. If the goals you set are unrealistic, it will be difficult for them to feel like they are making any sort of progress and lose self-confidence and motivation. When setting goals with your employees, assess their current skills and performance levels, and figure out what is a plausible amount of improvement and growth that could be expected within the timeframe set.
Develop a Specific Plan of Action
Goals on their own are not enough – employees need to feel confident they can make them happen. After you have defined the actual goals for employees, set them up for success by developing a specific plan of action. Work with your employees to break down goals into smaller steps with timelines. This allows them to prevent getting overwhelmed by bigger goals and make more consistent progress.
Help Them Be Accountable
Be a mentor to your employees and show them how to see their goals through to completion by meeting with them regularly for progress updates. Not only does this help them be accountable and stay on task, but it also gives you an opportunity to discuss new strategies and offer advice if they are having difficulties.
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