It’s that time again. Most companies will ask professionals to set their annual goals by the first quarter. As I think about how to set mine this year by March 31, I wanted to share 3 tips that may also help you with yours. Even if you have already set your goals for this year, I recommend you still read tip #3 below. I bet you anything you forgot to set this one. It’s actually the most important one. I look forward to your comments and questions :-).
Tip 1: Set Goals that You can Exceed
Most companies provide very vague guidelines on what goals to set. If so, I recommend you set SMART goals that you can meet or exceed in. Stretch goals are great but can lead to the wrong impression if that’s not your company’s culture.
Imagine you set a stretch goal for yourself. Maybe your manager even encouraged you to do so and told you it’s okay even if you attained 80% of it. Then that manager leaves the company and you get a new boss. How likely is that new manager aware of what you discussed with your old manager? How will it look to that manager when you attain only 80% of your goal by year end? Often how much bonus your receive is directly tied to achievement of your annual goals.
Unless it’s the company culture across the board to set stretch goals and attaining 80% is automatically seen as meeting or exceeding expectations, you need to set goals that you can exceed in to build your reputation. This doesn’t mean intentionally sandbagging the goals. The goals still need to be meaty for the year. Just make sure you have ample confidence that you can meet or exceed them.
Tip 2: Define Goals That are Specific and Flexible
What if you are in a new team or new role and it’s difficult to know exactly what you can achieve by year end? No worries. You can still set goals that are specific but allows you the flexibility to decide what you will achieve. Here are two examples
- Develop and implement new thinking or new approach in 3 areas in collaboration with key working partners.
- Identify 10+ new opportunities for improvement. Develop plans on how to implement the top 3 to 5 opportunities next year
In both of these cases, the goals didn’t say what my team will exactly achieve. I already have 6 ideas
for #1 above. I set the goal at 3 so I can exceed it, but I didn’t have to be specific on what they are. As long as at the end of year, I can present at least 3 areas where I implemented new thinking or approaches, then I have met this goal.
The second example also gives me freedom to just identify more opportunities to improve but not actually implement them this year nor all of it next year. This is a way to demonstrate the value of a new team and also set goals before I know what exactly we can achieve.
Tip 3: The Goal > 80% of Professionals Forget to Set
This last tip is by far the most important. This is because this goal is unlikely to be written in the formal submission of your annual goals at work. Instead, it is something you need to make sure you answer for yourself and deliver on this year.
What is it, you ask? Well, the question you really should answer for yourself is: What do you want to be known for this year? You may list 4-5 goals this year to complete the annual goal task, but the more important questions are
- How do you plan to build your work reputation this year?
- And who do you plan to proactively build your relationship with so that they get to know the most powerful side of you? In turn, then they can be your advocates.
All this depends on you really thinking about what you are doing this year and choose at most 2 specific efforts that you will knock out of the park this year. Choose wisely as not everything you do this year matters. Some things are just the needed grunt work of your job. You want to choose areas with these characteristics
- You have a unique talent in achieving
- Achieving it solves a big problem for your manager or an influential partner OR helps at least your manager or one influential partner better succeed at their jobs
- Once achieved, you will get the credit for it directly.
- Ideally it’s also an area you are really interesting in learning and achieving
What Do You Want to Be Known for this Year?
Be honest, did you already think about this before reading this post? If not, it’s okay. Most people forget to work smart instead of hard. By proactively thinking about the 1 or 2 things you want to be known for and laying out a plan of how to be known for it, you will go further than those who just work equally at all their goals.
I look forward to hearing your answers to this questions. As for me, I am still thinking about it. Given I am creating a new strategy team, my work brand needs to be that Lei is effective at creating innovative strategy that are also practical. I need to think along these lines in terms of efforts that will help support that brand. I will keep you posted 🙂
Your comments: What is the one thing you want to be known for? Why? How will this help you at work? I look forward to hearing from you
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I am always in your corner. Best wishes
Lei