Setting goals is an important part of leading any team, and it’s something you do whether you realize it or not. Something as simple as being prepared for the next meeting or cleaning out the stock room for the next inventory shipment is a goal, albeit a short-term one. While anyone can set goals, as a leader it’s important to set the right kinds of goals for your team as well as yourself. Here are some ways to make sure you’re setting effective goals as a leader.
Be Realistic
While it’s good to be ambitious and always strive to improve, overambition and setting unrealistic goals can lead to you and your team coming up short time and time again, hurting morale and your own image as a leader. When setting your goals, try breaking larger projects down into smaller chunks and set smaller goals over a longer period of time. This will help keep your team on track as well as give you some wiggle room to shuffle things around if some parts of the project take longer than others.
Your Ego Has to Go
While a lot of times you might be tempted to just try to do everything yourself, you have a team of people under you for a reason. Don’t be afraid to delegate and trust them to be self-sufficient. Even if they stumble here and there, they can learn from their mistakes, and grow in the process. Check-in from time to time and make sure they know your door is open if they need help, but don’t try to do everything for them.
Utilize Time Management Tools
Even if you’re good at leading your team and getting things done, finding ways to optimize your time management can help you prioritize your time even better and turn your team into a well-oiled machine. Be it a smartphone app, a project management software tool, or even just a better planning book, using project management tools and techniques can benefit the entire team and make sure everyone is on the same page.
Embrace Change
Change is uncomfortable, but it isn’t always a bad thing. Change in policies, technology, and protocols can actually help your team change for the better and become even more efficient. If there are changes happening outside of your control, get ahead of things and try to adapt and make those changes work to your benefit.