Are You Setting the Same Goal Over and Over Again?

It seems to be standard practice in just about every sort of work environment to set goals. Whether it is personal goals that end up on an employee evaluation or team building goals or even profit projections that dictate the overall direction the company is heading, goal-setting is a key component to solid management. Where things can go off track, however, is when the same goal is being set (and missed) over and over again. The problem may be in team or individual performance, but it might also be that you are setting the wrong goal.

If you catch yourselves talking about the same missed targets at meetings or re-setting goals that have yet been unattainable, it is time to ask yourself what is going on. Whether you need to sort things out as a team or collective or if you need to look at your own personal performance, it is time to evaluate the goal(s) and the goal-setting process. Why isn't the goal being met? Is it truly an unreasonable goal or is there a lack of moral or motivation that is influencing performance? There IS a reason and it is up to the team or individual to discover what it is.

If you are in a management position or working on personnel evaluations and find that individuals are missing targets or not able to reach goals time and time again, it is a challenge to your management skills to look not only at the individual, but at the reasonableness of the goals. Unattainable goals wear down moral and contribute to high turnover. Not to mention, if budgeting and financial projections rely on goal setting, the fact that the goals are repeatedly unmet means the financial plan is off. Setting realistic, albeit challenging goals is a key component to solid and helpful planning.

Take a good hard look at the goal setting process and the purpose and reasonableness of the goals being set by your work team. If they are unattainable or have not been attained after repeated attempts, spend some time to figure out why. Instead of simply carrying over goals that SEEM logical or appropriate, make goal-setting meaningful by looking at specific goals EACH time you work through the goal-setting process.