Saturday, May 14, 2005
SETTING (AND REALIZING) GOALS
What three things do you want to do in your lifetime? Your answers to this rhetorical question highlight your greatest aspirations and goals in life. Once, when asked this question, I answered: "Do you want to see my To-Do-List?" To start off a new year, it has become my practice to write a wish list on what I want to do for the next twelve months. My 2005 To-Do-List includes the following: Read Harry Potter 5. Hike up Taal Volcano. Go to the new Ayala Museum. Go to the beach. Take up a new sport. It's a simple yet effective way to set goals.
At work, it is also a practice to prepare a similar list at the start of a new fiscal year. My Performance Worksheet outlines what I want to accomplish for the year: Organize quarterly events for DDI-certified facilitators. Hire two more Business Development Consultants. Maintain a 90% internal customer satisfaction rating. Co-facilitate a Targeted Selection® Interviewer workshop. Similar to my personal To-Do-List, my Performance Worksheet specifies WHAT I need to do; but there’s more to it than that! It also outlines HOW I will achieve them through identified competencies required for success. My Performance Worksheet reminds me of the competencies I need to demonstrate to meet my goals: Planning and Organizing, Decision-Making, Building Customer Loyalty, Initiating Action, and Communication. In addition, my individual development plan allows me to take charge of my own development. My Performance Worksheet is more than just a To-Do-List: it's a user-friendly and effective tool to set goals, to stay focused, to keep learning, and most importantly, to execute and realize our aspirations.
And I have to thank Max, our term of endearment for Maximizing Performance®, our performance management system. It's not an exercise of filling out forms at the end of another performance cycle; our Max® Performance Worksheet allows us to manage our daily performance by clarifying specific accountabilities (both quantifiable and behavioral expectations, or the "whats" and the "hows") and recognizing our developmental areas. Max® involves the entire team because it is not a "top-down" implementation of a performance appraisal process; instead, we are all involved in setting goals and even in tracking and reviewing our own performance. It encourages an environment of trust and openness as we give and receive feedback on objectives, ideas, competition, resources, and quality. Most importantly, Max® keeps us aligned to our vision, values, and business goals because it translates our organizational aspirations into SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, time-bound) day-to-day performance objectives.
Research shows that the most effective performance management systems are characterized by their consistent use throughout the organization, their integration with other systems, senior management involvement, employee involvement, and their links to organizational strategy. Moreover, effective systems also include development planning, manager accountability, objective data, and competency guidelines. "Performance management can lead to a distinctive competitive advantage," says Robert W. Rogers, President of Development Dimensions International, in his latest book Realizing the Promise of Performance Management. "It can help organizations change rapidly, drive toward a single set of strategic objectives, achieve a desired culture, develop associates, increase retention, and a lot more." It's more than simply setting goals or writing a To-Do-List; your goal ought to be a practical performance management system that can maximize the performance of your people and realize your bottom-line results. Add that to your To-Do-List.
REFERENCES
At work, it is also a practice to prepare a similar list at the start of a new fiscal year. My Performance Worksheet outlines what I want to accomplish for the year: Organize quarterly events for DDI-certified facilitators. Hire two more Business Development Consultants. Maintain a 90% internal customer satisfaction rating. Co-facilitate a Targeted Selection® Interviewer workshop. Similar to my personal To-Do-List, my Performance Worksheet specifies WHAT I need to do; but there’s more to it than that! It also outlines HOW I will achieve them through identified competencies required for success. My Performance Worksheet reminds me of the competencies I need to demonstrate to meet my goals: Planning and Organizing, Decision-Making, Building Customer Loyalty, Initiating Action, and Communication. In addition, my individual development plan allows me to take charge of my own development. My Performance Worksheet is more than just a To-Do-List: it's a user-friendly and effective tool to set goals, to stay focused, to keep learning, and most importantly, to execute and realize our aspirations.
And I have to thank Max, our term of endearment for Maximizing Performance®, our performance management system. It's not an exercise of filling out forms at the end of another performance cycle; our Max® Performance Worksheet allows us to manage our daily performance by clarifying specific accountabilities (both quantifiable and behavioral expectations, or the "whats" and the "hows") and recognizing our developmental areas. Max® involves the entire team because it is not a "top-down" implementation of a performance appraisal process; instead, we are all involved in setting goals and even in tracking and reviewing our own performance. It encourages an environment of trust and openness as we give and receive feedback on objectives, ideas, competition, resources, and quality. Most importantly, Max® keeps us aligned to our vision, values, and business goals because it translates our organizational aspirations into SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, time-bound) day-to-day performance objectives.
Research shows that the most effective performance management systems are characterized by their consistent use throughout the organization, their integration with other systems, senior management involvement, employee involvement, and their links to organizational strategy. Moreover, effective systems also include development planning, manager accountability, objective data, and competency guidelines. "Performance management can lead to a distinctive competitive advantage," says Robert W. Rogers, President of Development Dimensions International, in his latest book Realizing the Promise of Performance Management. "It can help organizations change rapidly, drive toward a single set of strategic objectives, achieve a desired culture, develop associates, increase retention, and a lot more." It's more than simply setting goals or writing a To-Do-List; your goal ought to be a practical performance management system that can maximize the performance of your people and realize your bottom-line results. Add that to your To-Do-List.
REFERENCES
- Bernthal, Paul R., Rogers, Robert W., and Smith, Audrey B. Managing Performance: Building Accountability for Organizational Success. HR Benchmark Group. Pittsburgh, PA: Development Dimensions International, 2003.
- Rogers, Robert W. Realizing the Promise of Performance Management. Pittsburgh, PA: Development Dimensions International, 2004.
