The goals of a leader are vital because they carry major responsibilities. They may not be responsible for the day-to-day work, but the morale, productivity, and performance of their teams rest largely on their shoulders. In fact, according to a Gallup report, 70% of a team’s engagement level is determined by the manager.
Since engagement plays such a major role in productivity and turnover reduction, leaders always need to be looking ahead and improve their management skills.
Individuals within an organization look up to leadership and take their cues from how the executives above them operate. Leaders who are not composed or who are disorganized inspire those same poor habits in others.
To create a clear vision and lead teams effectively, leaders should set goals regularly.
Let’s take a look at the 4 most compelling reasons why.
1. Goals Help You Stay Focused
Even though you may not be involved in the day-to-day work that makes your organization run, you probably have more on your plate than most of your team.
Between emails, meetings, reports, and other responsibilities, it can be difficult to remember what is your biggest priority.
Goals help you stay focused on those priorities, making you more effective and efficient.
Staying focused on the big picture is difficult without goals. It’s important for leaders to have a few different types of goals.
Daily, monthly, quarterly, and annual goals will help to prevent loss of focus at any stage.
Having regular goal reviews and setting aside time to plan new goals are also essential for maintaining this focus.
2. Set an Example for The Rest of Your Organization
As discussed, people look up to leaders for examples of how to behave. You can’t preach one thing to your team members and do something entirely different. That’s just hypocritical.
If you want everyone on your team to be motivated and set their own goals, you need to set that expectation by setting measurable and achievable goals on a consistent basis.
One of the essential traits of being an organizational leader is making sure you’re holding yourself to a higher standard than you hold others.
If you aren’t setting goals and holding yourself accountable, your team will have no reason to be motivated or hold themselves accountable.
But by being energized, goal-oriented, and organized, you’ll inspire others to be the same way.
You’ll also allow your team members to enjoy more independence.
They won’t have to constantly look to you to determine what to do next. They can just take the next step toward your team’s goals.
3. Create and Build Momentum
One of the most important benefits of setting goals and holding yourself to them is that goals create and build momentum.
Completing a goal gives you the motivation and drive to tackle the next goal. For this reason, it’s important to set a mix of easy, medium, and hard goals.
Completing the easy goals first will build momentum for medium goals, which will then provide the confidence and inspiration to reach the most difficult (and probably the most important) goals of all.
4. Goals Help Increase Employee Engagement
Engagement at work is an important factor in workplace happiness, employee retention, and productivity. People who are engaged at work do better work and are more likely to stick around.
If you want to keep employees from feeling disengaged and getting by with subpar work, you need to give them something meaningful to work toward.
Setting goals that align with your employees’ tasks and duties will inspire them to take action and give them a reason to work more diligently.
Team goals help bring everyone together and improve everything from work quality to the organizational culture. Who knows?
Since 76% of employees would like opportunities for career growth, inspiring your employees could help you identify the rising stars who could help your organization reach new heights.
Leaders and Teams Need Goals to Thrive
If you want to be the best leader you can be, you can’t afford to neglect goal-setting. Don’t just say, “I’ll get to it sometime.” Add some time to your calendar for goal-setting each week.
That way, you’ll never be caught without goals. And your team will have the opportunity to thrive under your goal-oriented leadership.
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What Should the Goals of a Leader Be?
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Leadership is not defined by titles or positions; it’s about the impact we create, the positive change we inspire, and the goals we relentlessly pursue.