Question: We don”™t have companywide goals. We”™re all self-interested and sometimes it”™s hard to understand each other”™s pictures. When we do make goals, they seem loose, they don”™t get transferred to the entire team and we don”™t take them seriously. How do we get the whole team on the same page?
Thoughts of the day: Even if you don”™t have written goals, you do have goals; you just don”™t know it yet. As owners it”™s important that you take hold and decide what you stand for. There are always consequences for your actions or inactions. Remember that there is strength in numbers. Learn to help each other get ahead.
Every day, people get up, go to work, get things done and then go home. Intentionally planned out or simply drifting along, most people manage to get moving each day and accomplish some things. Conscious and unconscious activities are the outgrowth of conscious or unconscious goals ”” to get moving, to earn some money, to be in contact with other people, to get something done.
Thinking through long- and short-term goals, actions and consequences allows one to act pre-emptively to achieve what”™s desired. Written goals, backed up by a list of action steps needed to achieve those goals, tend to increase the likelihood of the goals coming to be. Working consciously through goals and actions can also increase the chance that undesired consequences can be anticipated, and avoided or minimized.
Human behavior starts with thinking selfishly, “What”™s good for me?” For some people it evolves to, “How can I accomplish what I need while also thinking about the needs and wants of others?” Expanding one”™s horizon beyond self-interest allows for the possibility of taking in additional ideas and contributions from others.
No one person has all the answers. A group working to solve problems and learn from each other”™s experiences tends to result in higher level outcomes than does a person working alone. In the process of working out bugs, communicating about what needs to happen and sharing individual know-how, a higher level of performance emerges based upon the group”™s collective abilities.
It does take patience to listen as one member of the group, and then another, talks about how his or her experiences are relevant to the situation at hand. It may feel as though there isn”™t enough time to wade through the clutter of multiple participants inputting what they consider to be important. In the process of trying to saving time, it”™s easy to overlook the nuggets that each team member can add to a group project.
People in the organization look to the owners for leadership and guidance. Behaving without regard for your peers, ignoring the goals and motivations of other team members, shutting off discussion ”” are these really the things you want to be known for? Or would you rather be seen as a person who encourages the talent around you, as someone who helps people grow by fostering an environment of cooperation and collaboration while working toward the greater good?
Consider compromise to find the balance between what you want and accommodating the needs of other team members. Allow for the possibility that helping each other may lead to new insights and experiences that could never have emerged if you were working on your own.
Use the process of defining and setting specific, tangible goals to your advantage. Discussion, documentation and negotiation are all great tools to help you better understand where your teammates are coming from, and to educate them about what you consider important. Asking all team members to join in will remind them that they are crucial to the growth of the company and will make them committed to achieving the goals. Use breakdowns in communication and teamwork to your advantage; treat them as learning and strengthening opportunities. Refuse to walk away when things get tough. Hold your team members accountable for doing the same.
Looking for a good book? Try “Good Luck: Creating the Conditions for Success in Life and Business” by Alex Rovira and Fernando Trias de Bes.
Andi Gray is president of Strategy Leaders Inc., strategyleaders.com, a business-consulting firm that specializes in helping entrepreneurial firms grow. She can be reached by phone at 877-238-3535. Do you have a question for Andi? Send it via email to AskAndi@strategyleaders. Visit AskAndi.com for an entire library of Ask Andi articles.
