How to set crystal clear goals as a leader?

How to set crystal clear goals as a leader?

Product & Leadership Playbook

Play 1/196 — Goal setting

Setting clear goals is an important step in achieving success in any area of your life. Whether you’re trying to improve your career, your relationships, or your personal development, having clear goals will help you stay focused and motivated as you work towards achieving them.

Goal-setting Principles:

1. Make sure your goals are specific: Clearly define what you want to achieve and why it’s important. Instead of saying “improve the user experience,” try setting a specific goal like “increase the average session duration for new users by 50% within the next quarter.”
2. Make sure your goals are achievable and measurable. It’s important to challenge yourself, but setting unrealistic goals can be demotivating and lead to frustration. Identify the key performance indicators (KPIs) that will help you track progress toward your goals. For example, you could measure session duration using Google Analytics or a similar tool.
3. Make sure your goals are relevant to your values and priorities. If your goals don’t align with what’s important to you, you’re less likely to stay motivated and committed to achieving them.
4. Make sure your goals are time-bound. Having a deadline helps you stay focused and motivated, and it gives you a sense of accomplishment when you reach your goal. Consider the resources and capabilities of your team, and set realistic goals that are within reach.
5. Make sure your goals are relevant: Align your goals with the overall mission and goals of your company, and consider how they fit with your team’s priorities and strengths.
6. Write down your goals and make them available to everyone. Research has shown that people who write down their goals are more likely to achieve them. Keep your goals visible, so everyone can see them every day and stay motivated.
7. If it's your personal growth-related Goal, share your goals with someone. Telling someone about your goals can help you stay accountable and motivated. Consider sharing your goals with your Superior, peers, coach, or mentor.

Footnote about goals & measurements

1. When you think you can have it all, you cannot have it all: Selecting a goal or two clearly stating, some other goals will not be done and thus rejected. Think very clearly about what you as a leader want to impact with the team, and which key metrics or achievements will move the needle for your organization.
2. Goals are not desires: Goals must be achieved, it's a competitive environment you work in, while desires are needs getting in your way to achieve objectives.
3. Perks are not success metrics: The focus needs to remain on the benefit of the company and the team, instead of the perks that come with success. Trips, Extra Holidays, and Travel Upgrades can't come ahead of your team and their well-being.
4. Don't rule it out because it's difficult to reach: Trying for a 10x reach might sound difficult, however, the focus is what you and the team can control, nudge, and enable to achieve the objective. Setting a goal, which you cannot control, will fail you and everyone else.
5. Your limitations will hold the whole team back: If you set goals for the team you can reach, you are withholding untapped potential and limiting everyone around you to your capabilities.
6. Be Flexible and Self-Accountable: Flexibility is what comes with validation, nobody is a future teller, so you need to adjust your goals to reality, to enable your team to pull in the right direction.
7. Knowing how to deal with underachievement will push everyone forward: Nobody knows what life will throw at you or your team, however, you can decide how to react to it and figure out, how current happenings can be turned into positive outcomes.

By following these tips, you can set clear goals that will help you stay focused and motivated as you work towards achieving success. Good luck!

Recommendation — — —

Are you interested in working with Principles?

Principles: Life and Work

Ray Dalio’s “Principles” is a self-help and business book that outlines the author’s personal and professional philosophies, including his approach to decision-making, management, and leadership. The book is based on Dalio’s experiences as the founder of Bridgewater Associates, a successful investment firm, and it aims to provide readers with practical guidance on how to achieve success in their own lives and careers. Dalio’s principles are centered on the idea of “radical truth and transparency,” and he advocates for open and honest communication, continuous learning and improvement, and the importance of setting clear goals and constantly working to achieve them. Overall, “Principles” is a highly influential and widely-read book that has received praise for its practical and actionable advice.

Link to buy the book: Principles: Life and Work

Hi, I’m Lehel. I became a product manager to fuel my curiosity in technology and business management by creating digital products. My journey allowed me to dive deep into product design, user experience, business administration, and learning multiple programming languages. I have been fortunate to lead programs for successful Startups and Fortune 500 companies whereas a leader, my focus is on establishing a great product culture to help people strive by following servant leadership and radical candor principles. In my free time, I write about product management & leadership topics to document the learnings of my past 15 years in the field.

It starts with:

• How People Analytics helps to empower and manage tech teams?
• How to map business value with human capital?
• The 5 pillars of scaling cross-functional teams
• 12 Best Books to read in 2023 as a Product Leader

You can find me at lehelkakonyi.com as well…