If you can set higher goals at work, then you’ll likely see a jump in your performance. It can be tempting to make your goals too easy.
While this looks good on a performance review, it lowers the ceiling on your potential.
Instead, try this exercise to start setting and achieving higher goals with you and your team. It’s the latest tip in our ongoing Productivity at Work series.
What Productivity Questions Does This Video Answer?
- How to set higher goals at work?
- How to make your team more creative?
- Is it okay to not reach an ambitious goal?
- How to get employees to think big?
Video Transcript for How to Set Higher Goals at Work
If you’re really good at achieving your goals, then are you setting them high enough? I like setting goals but I realize that I can fall into the trap of making them easy to achieve. And when you do that you don’t grow professionally. You can’t grow an organization. You’re kind of stuck in mediocrity.
So what do you do to improve your goals? Well, look at the goalsyou current have. Let’s say, hypothetically, it’s 5% growth every year. You know pretty much, year after year, you can achieve it.
We’re not going to do that again. Instead, what if you got your team together and said imagine this scenario: Imagine that if we did not have 15% growth in the coming year, we would have to shut down our operations.
Now this is obviously presented to people as a scenario and not as coming attractions. But you want them to think big.
What would they do if they had to hit that goal in order to save their jobs. Some ideas may come up.
Then later you reach for them. You decide if some of them can be implemented.
Maybe, at the end of the year, you achieve 10% growth. Now that’s not the goal of 15 but it’s 5% better than what you were doing.
In my mind, that’s not a failure, it’s a success because you can always look back at the things you did over the past year and maybe the following year you can Achieve that 15% growth goal.
Setting goals need to involve a little bit of a challenge. Use your team to get focused.
About This Video Series
Ken Okel’s ongoing Employee Productivity video series will make you more effective on the job. Every week, you’ll learn a new, easy to understand tip that you can use right away.
Got a productivity problem? Let us know and we’ll feature it in an upcoming episode.
About Ken Okel
As a motivational speaker, Ken Okel works with leaders and organizations to boost productivity, performance, and profits. At conferences, conventions, and company meetings, he engages audiences with new ways to maximize their time at work. To see a sample of his keynote and workshop presentations, visit his video page.
