Goal visibility is about motivation and progress. As a social species, we care about what others think. In today’s workplace, shared goals are a powerful way to keep team members on the same page and drive engagement.
When you put together a goals program, either for your own personal development or for your employees as an HR director, think about the process not just of setting, but maintaining goals. After all, everyone knows how to set a New Year’s resolution — the real expertise comes in finding ways to follow through and celebrate success.
Write Them Down
Recent studies show that it’s better to write down your goals, which increases the odds of completion. The act of documenting goals also helps you to get your own clarity on goals.
Plus, having goals in writing means you can put them somewhere you’ll see them and others will see them, too.
Display Your Goals
When it comes to goal visibility, there are two extremes to stay away from. If you set goals and never look at them again, you have low odds of completing them. Your goals should be visible, especially to yourself! They’re best stored in a place you see them every day. That way, you’ll think about progress and next steps each time you see your goals.
When your goals are displayed somewhere, it enables your peers to take a look, too.
Share Your Goals
Yes, you should share your goals with others, too. There are a couple very good reasons for this. First, it reduces duplicated work. For example, our marketing lead and HR lead may want to get the company on a “Best Places to Work” list, so they don’t want to repeat each others’ efforts.
Shared goals also benefit teams in connection, motivation and accountability. If your team members know your goals, they’ll check in to make sure you’re making progress. But, they’ll also be motivated — knowing where you started the quarter and how much you accomplished may inspire teammates to set bigger goals for themselves, too.
But, Don’t Share With Everyone
Avoid making goals *too* visible. Derek Sivers discusses public goals in his TED Talk, sharing how a public announcement of goals gives you a similar satisfaction to actually completing them — and then, you don’t bother.
The happy medium is to share your goals with your team. These people are invested in your success and can keep you accountable.
Lastly, be sure you review your goals regularly. If a goal is outdated, don’t be afraid to pull it down. Sometimes you need to eliminate less important goals in order to meet the ones that matter.
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