“The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority.”
– Ken Blanchard
Techniques and Tactics for Developing Shared Goals and Expectations
Teams are expected to achieve an outcome in a specific period of time. However, team members may have different views on how to best achieve that outcome. The following techniques will help you develop shared goals and expectations across your team.
Focus the team on the five Ws
Definition
Focus the team on who is responsible, what needs to be accomplished, where it’s occurring, when it needs to be accomplished, and why the team is engaging in it.
Tactics
- Encourage team members to share information with one another – don’t assume that information is common knowledge.
- Focus on process, not just performance – talk about how things will be done, not just the end goal.
- Make sure goals are realistic and attainable but challenging enough to keep team members engaged.
Develop performance-oriented goals
Definition
Performance-oriented goals present the team with the right challenge as well as the appropriate inspiration and opportunity.
Tactics
- Tie team goals to personal values/interests of team members to gain buy-in.
- Break goals down into manageable sub-goals to manage complicated tasks.
- Make sure goals are realistic and attainable but challenging enough to keep team members engaged.
Eliminate the “us” vs. “them" mentality
Definition
Communicate about and collaboratively set goals in such a way as to equally influence troops you know and those that may be new.
Tactics
- Get team members to provide their input on what the goals should be and how the tasks should be performed.
- If there are conflicting goals, have team members prioritize their criticality based on the situation.
- Emphasize that everyone must contribute to reach the team goals – no one will be successful unless everyone collaborates.
- Discuss how team members can back up/support each other to reach goals.