Is Goal Ambiguity The Real Problem?
The silent performance killer in our teams
In my workshops I always strive to make people feel comfortable, relaxed, and familiar with the people around them. I run a few exercises to get people up and about talking with each other to warm them up before tackling the heavier content of any session.
I'll pose questions linked to the content of the day. When I run strategy workshops one question I will ask is, "how are you tracking on your individual targets so far year-to-date?"
People will discuss this with their partner and it is always nice to celebrate those succeeding in this department. We can all attest to how difficult it is to hit targets and deadlines in any of our work. But, I always ask a follow up question, "Who is not sure?"
After asking this question for a few years I have stopped being surprised by how many raise their hand to this second question. Sometimes it is upwards of half the room and is never less than a quarter of the room. What makes this more alarming is many of participants in such a workshop are managers themselves.
Far from scientific, but evidential enough to visibly see there is a gap between goal-setting and goal-understanding.
Ray Dalio says to "watch out for people who confuse goals and tasks because if they can't make that distinction, you can't trust them with responsibilities".
In our teams, we are trying to support and unite people to bind together to do something meaningful, achieve business metrics and create a productive enjoyable culture. But, if people do not understand the easiest part in all this (the trackable measurable goals) then we are in big trouble.
As leaders we can do a lot to ensure this basic essential is not missing:
Talk in Questions - how many coaching conversations are you having per day? Do you know how to coach? Do you know what good coaching looks and sounds like? If you are not proficient in coaching then please reach out and learn. If you have been taught good coaching technique then practice. And then practice some more. And more. And more. This habit enforces talk (and critical thinking) about goals, how people are tracking on their goals, and what they will be doing next to achieve their goals. It ensures goals go from a number on a page to a contextual language people think in as they work.
Talk in Small - for some reason we are obsessed with size. Largest dollar turnover, highest building, longest... (I'll leave it there). The older I get the more I am seeing the value of small, manageable and nimble. We underestimate the power of smaller targets with shorter timelines. In cricket I was taught to watch the seem not the ball (smaller target to hit). Pro Golfer Jordan Speith is famous for picking small targets (smaller target smaller misses). Timothy Galloway teaches novices how to hit a tennis ball starting with the smallest of small strokes and then builds them up until they are hitting cross court passing shots into a crate. If your people are not hitting targets, they may not understand them. So, talk in the smallest terms possible (timeframe, unit number, etc). Big and wide is our enemy.
Talk in Detail - something to help us 'talk in small' is to talk through the detail. I don't mean the way english people talk to foreigners as if they are four years old. It is more about not rushing through the conversation. The ability to slow oneself and talk through all elements of a goal. I see it in meetings constantly - people chat through the high level content and make weak agreements. It is fascinating to see seasoned accomplished professionals leave meetings without anyone actually being clear on who is doing what and when it needs to be done by. Lets not be those people, especially as a leader. Take the time to go through the details of a goal or don't discuss it at all.
I cannot help but be forthright with these points. In an age where Senior Leadership are trying to figure out strategic initiatives and goals to create a competitive advantage, there is still a huge opportunity for these same leaders to ensure their teams understand the goals at hand and are engaging with them.
Many businesses big and small are not doing this well. You may be reading this thinking, "this doesn't apply to me. I'm good on this front". But, be warned - it is the silent killer eroding performance. It never sleeps and it is always creeping into the weakest element in our teams. Loosen your grip for an instant and it will strike.
Team performance requires in-depth engagement and empowerment around the goals - it is an ongoing non-negotiable.
