How to set and achieve any goal using a goal planning worksheet

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In this video and blog post I will explain the key elements to achieving a highly important goal. Without these elements as part of your goal setting, you might be doomed to fail.

Focusing on achieving one very high priority goal has great benefits because if you choose the right goal, you will achieve many sub goals as well. I will cover this in detail in this blog and video along with a step by step explanation of how to achieve it.

For the last several years I have published a Year in Review Goal Planning Guide. In that guide you are shown how to set several important goals after a review of your previous year.

My experience tells me that most of us set too many goals or resolutions that we quickly lose focus on and forget. I find it is much easier and productive to focus on one highly important goal and progressively take action to achieve it one step at a time.

What usually happens is that as we take action to achieve the goal, we realize many sub-goals along the way. This provides fast results and rewards and keeps us motivated.

For this to work properly, you need to have the right goal. That is why I suggest going through my Year in Review video and downloading the PowerPoint so that you can fill it in. I’ll walk you through a summary of each component of setting this goal.

You can download the goal planning worksheet and goal planning worksheet sample to follow along and complete your goal planning form right now on your computer or print it out and write it down with a pen.

The first step is to write down your goal using the S.M.A.R.T. method. This stands for specific, measurable, acceptable, realistic and timed. For example rather than saying I want to lose 15 lbs, you would say I want to go from 200 lbs to 185 lbs over the next 6 months. Some experts say you should write your goal in the present tense as if you already accomplished it, so it becomes an affirmation. In that case you would say, It feels great to weigh 185lbs. Another method is to say I no longer weight 200 lbs. It feels great being at my ideal weight of 185 lbs.

Whatever way you choose to write it make sure it meets the S.M.A.R.T. criteria. You would write the target date and today’s date of in the boxes provided on the worksheet or on a blank paper if that’s what you are using. This makes the goal specific, measurable, acceptable, realistic and timed. Acceptable is important because you don’t want to take unhealthy means to achieve your goal. Some people use the word actionable or achievable for the letter A, but all goals must be actionable. As for achievable, this should be covered by it being realistic. The goal must also be written so you can refer back to it and track your progress. The way the example goal is stated makes it measurable because you have a starting point of what you weigh now and your target for 6 months, which seems very realistic.

Most people do not even write down their goals, never mind making them SMART. But this is a crucial step before proceeding with the rest.

The next step is to write down the benefits of achieving the goal. It is important to have at least 5 benefits, otherwise you might not have enough reasons and motivation to do what is required. Some benefit examples for this goal are feel better, be healthier, have more energy, look better and get more dates.

The next step is crucial to having success in achieving your goal and I have not seen this covered in any tutorials of this type. It is to brainstorm the obstacles. Write down all the obstacles you can think of before thinking of solutions. Some possible obstacles for this goal would be bad eating habits, motivation to exercise properly, time, laziness, etc..

Next is to come up with solutions to each obstacle. For poor eating habits the solution could be to consult a dietician to develop a meeting plan or do research yourself online. One thing about developing solutions is that it is very personal and the better you know yourself the more realistic will be your solutions. As in the previous example there is more than one solution for each obstacle so choosing the right one for you is very important, and be honest with yourself.

The solutions listed now make it easy to set action steps. These should be specific and have a target date so you can track your progress. The first step could be to weigh yourself and write it down. Next could be to research on better food choices or set a meeting with a dietician.

The next step is to establish your measurement and tracking method. For this goal it could be to keep a log of what you eat daily and weigh yourself every Sunday morning.

To finalize your goal and make it official there are 3 questions you need to answer. First is it worth your time and money to reach your goal, yes or no? Do you have the ability to achieve the goal and are you willing to do what it takes? Again you need to be honest with yourself. If you answered yes to all 3 then you are are on way to achieve your goal. Nothing should stop you. If you run into unforeseen obstacles, this is normal. Just treat them as you did the other obstacles and come up with new solutions.

The last box is for affirmations and visualization a. Some people find that repeating an affirmation or looking at a visual reminder of the goal is a good motivator and helps to stay on track. Affirmations should be written in the present tense and for visualization you could find pictures of yourself when you were at your ideal wright. An affirmation for this goal could be, I look and feel great now that I have lost weight. Hey, it even rhymes.

Setting and achieving a worthwhile goal that requires new habits is usually a stretch and not easy. Otherwise, we would all be our ideal weight. That is why many people decide to hire a coach, whether it be for a life change or for professional development. A good coach could help you be accountable to your goal and make it easier to stay on track.

Good goal planning and please leave your comments below and hit the subscribe button to get the latest blog articles and videos.

Stephen Goldberg
sgoldberg@optimusperformance.ca

How to apply the steps to progressive discipline to address employee performance problems

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It comes a time when you need to confront employees on performance issues. This is where a manager needs to understand and apply progressive discipline to attempt to turnaround problem performance situations.

Progressive discipline when applied correctly is what is best for the employee, the manager and the company. Even if you do not have established policies in your company you can follow these steps. They will let the employee know you mean business and will protect you and the company from wrongful dismissal and lawsuits.

You will need to have been given the authority to carry this out by your boss. You should also get familiar with the legal requirements for employee termination in your province, state or country.

Progressive discipline should be the last step in the management process. You should first confront the employee with your concerns about their behavior or performance and discuss it with them. Listen to what they have to say but end with a call to action.

For example if the employee has been late or missed days at work often, meet with them alone. Let them know how their behavior is affecting the work, the team and you. Ask them what they will do about it as it is not acceptable. Get a commitment and write it down. Make sure they see you writing it down. Set a follow-up date in a week o show them that this will not go away. Meet them whether the infraction has been corrected or not. If they have shown up on time every day over that week, recognize them for it. If they have not respected their commitment, let them know that the next time this occurs they will be getting a written warning. Explain the steps that will follow after that as explained below.

Verbal Notice

The first step is to provide the employee with verbal warning of the situation and that it needs to be corrected. Let them know that if the behavior or poor performance occurs again they will receive a written notice. Make sure you have a file for each employee and write the date of the warning and what you said in their file. Make sure to note their response. You might want to ask them to sign the note or you can have a witness present such as your boss or a colleague.

Written Notice

The next step if the situation has not been corrected by the employere is to give written warning. Refer back to the original reasons for the progressive discipline process presently being implemented. Also state the fact that verbal warning was given but the situation has not improved. The written warning should let them know that the next step if corrective action is not taken by the employee is a suspension without pay for one to three days or more. Also state that the last step will be termination if the cause for the progressive discipline reoccurs. 

Suspension

Suspension without pay is the last step in the progressive discipline process before termination. This should be done in writing as well. The length of suspension can vary.

Termination

This is the last step so hopefully the progressive discipline has been enough to change the behavior of the employee. In this case you want to terminate employment immediately. A letter of termination must be given that states the reasons for termination and reference to the progressive discipline steps that were taken.

Ideally you won’t have to do this too often. The goal is to hire the right person for the job and train and coach them for success.

 Stephen Goldberg

Optimus Performance

 

How to coach an employee to improve performance follow-up session

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In this video I will cover how to conduct a follow-up coaching session with the goal of improving employee performance.

In my previous video blog I explained how to use a job description to initiate a coaching process with the goal of improving performance. Prior to that, I showed how to write a job description using my job description template in that blog video. You can download the job description template from that blog article.

The follow-up coaching session is really an ongoing process of coaching for continuous improvement through goal setting, problem solving and clear communication between the manager and his/her direct reports.

Here are some suggested steps to run a successful coaching session.

1.       Start of by asking what is going well since the last meeting. Discuss the causes of this and recognize what the employee has done to make this happen. Point to their positive traits and improved behaviors that might have contributed to these results. For example the employee might have said they felt good about putting more time and focus on one of their key tasks that you had discussed with them at the last meeting. You could point out that you are glad to see them making that effort and that their ability to focus on a task is what you see as a key strength of theirs.

2.       Discuss the goal you may have set with them at the last meeting and the progress that has been made. Again recognize the accomplishments and what caused it in their behavior. If the action steps toward the goal had not been fully met discuss what happened. This is another opportunity to identify obstacles to job performance and to find and agree on new solutions.

3.       Review the actions you as a manager were to take to support them and remove any constraints that had been discussed at the previous meeting. See if there is new support action that you need to take.

4.       Review the discussion and summarize and agree on the next action steps both the employee and you will take towards the goals you have set together.

5.       Set the date for the next meeting in both your agendas.

Tip 1: Ask questions and listen. Let the employee come up with their own solutions to problems as much as possible, rather than solving problems for them and telling them what to do. This will develop more autonomous and responsible employees who will become self-sufficient with your coaching.

Tip 2: Never point out negative traits but instead focus on the problem. For example if the employee shows sign of poor work ethic, don’t say you really are lazy. Instead just ask what happened; why did they not do what was agreed.  If what you hear amounts to excuses, you need to challenge them on this without putting them down. Stick to finding out what they will do to correct this by the next meeting. If this behavior continues it is another type of problem that needs disciplinary action.  I will cover this in a future blog article and video.

Stephen Goldberg

10 Good Reasons to Write and Use a Job Description

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I was motivated to write this blog article after a coaching session with a client who decided he needed to hire an internal sales rep so he could free himself to work on pro-active sales to his niche market.

There is often a resistance on the part of business owners and managers to write job descriptions. They usually want someone else to do it for them.

But there are many excellent reasons to write a good job description. I have included a link to download a simple job description template.

Here are 10 good reasons to write a job description

  1.   Help you to hire the right person for the job
  2.   Use it as an aid to conduct hiring interviews
  3.   Use it as a starting point to write an advert about the job
  4.   Use it to make sure you are clear about what you expect from your direct reports
  5.   Use it as a tool to clarify performance expectations of your direct reports
  6.   Use it to meet with your direct reports to make sure your expectations are aligned
  7.   Use if to set goals with your direct reports
  8.   Use it to conduct regular performance appraisals
  9.   Use it to identify training needs
  10.   Use it as a tool to protect you and your company against complaints of wrong dismissal.

Now ask yourself when was the last time you wrote a good job description and reviewed it with your current employees?

Here is a link to download a job description template.

In an upcoming blog I will cover how to complete a job description.

If all this makes sense then set some time now to get started on this. Once you have written a few, it should not take longer than 1 hour to write a good first drat. I recommend writing a first draft, let it sit for a day and then complete it.

In university they teach you that to write a good job description you need to have an unbiased person observe the person performing the tasks and then write it up. But this is a laborious process that often never gets done. So don’t play it by the book. Just do it!

The job description template in Word can be downloaded here