Accomplish Any Goal as an Engineering Manager

10 min readFeb 11, 2024

In one of my previous articles, How to Define your Goals for 2024 as an Engineering Manager, I talked about how to set your yearly goals as an engineering manager.

But knowing what your goals are is just the beginning. The bigger challenge is figuring out how to actually reach those goals.

Bridging the gap between setting a goal and achieving it involves the methods you use and the way you and your team think and act. It’s not just about what your goals are but also how you work towards them.

This process includes careful planning, constantly trying to do better, staying strong in tough times, and having a good support system.

Let’s look at five important strategies that can help you not just set goals but also achieve them.

Set SMART goals

The strategies on how to achieve your goals already start when and how you set your goals. Setting SMART goals can significantly enhance your ability to achieve what you set out to do.

The acronym SMART stands for:

Specific: Your goal should be clear and specific, otherwise, you won’t be able to focus your efforts or feel truly motivated to achieve it.
Measurable: It’s important to have measurable goals, so that you can track your progress and stay motivated. Assessing progress helps you to stay focused, meet your deadlines, and feel the excitement of getting closer to achieving your goal.
Achievable: Your goal also needs to be realistic and attainable to be successful. In other words, it should stretch your abilities but still remain possible.
Relevant: This step is about ensuring that your goal matters to you (and your team), and that it also aligns with other relevant goals. We all need support and assistance in achieving our goals, but it’s important to retain control over them.
Time-bound: Every goal needs a target date, so that you have a deadline to focus on and something to work toward. This part of the SMART goal concept helps to prevent everyday tasks from taking priority over your longer-term goals.

Using the SMART goal paradigm, let’s use it for a practical example: You want to increase your team’s productivity.

Specific:

Goal: Increase your engineering team’s productivity.
Target: Achieve a 20% productivity increase.
Constraints: Maintain or improve the quality of work.

Measurable:

Metrics: Track productivity through key performance indicators (KPIs) such as the number of completed projects, code efficiency, or engineering velocity.
Evidence of Achievement: A 20% improvement in these KPIs compared to the baseline.

Achievable:

Resources Needed: Access to productivity tools, training programs, and potential process improvement consultants.
Realistic Timelines: Provide time for the team to adapt to new tools and processes.
Skills Required: Team’s ability to adapt to new technologies and workflows.

Relevant:

Alignment with Company Goals: Ensure that increasing productivity supports broader company objectives, such as faster product delivery, higher customer satisfaction, or reduced operational costs.
Personal and Team Growth: Enhance team skills and efficiency, contributing to professional development and job satisfaction.

Time-bound:

Deadline: Six months.
Milestones: Set specific milestones to monitor progress at regular intervals (e.g., process assessment, implementation of improvements, progress review, and adjustment phases).

The one sentence version of our SMART goal is

Improve the engineering team’s productivity by 20% within the next six months, without compromising on the quality of work, by streamlining processes, implementing new tools, and enhancing collaboration within the team.

Create Milestones

Creating milestones is a powerful strategy to maintain momentum and motivation as you work towards a larger goal.

By breaking your main goal into smaller, more manageable milestones, you create a series of achievable wins, making the journey toward your ultimate goal feel more accessible and less daunting.

Let’s create Milestones for our SMART Goal of “Improve the engineering team’s productivity by 20% within the next six months”:

Milestone 1: Assess Current Processes (Weeks 1–2)

Objective: Conduct a comprehensive review of current workflows, tools, and team dynamics to identify bottlenecks or areas for improvement.
Activities: Gather feedback from the team, review project management tools, and analyze performance metrics.
Success Indicator: A detailed report outlining processes, current productivity levels and potential areas for improvement.

Milestone 2: Implement Process Improvements (Weeks 3–8)

Objective: Streamline existing processes and introduce new tools or methods to enhance efficiency.
Activities: Implement agile methodologies, introduce or upgrade project management tools, and provide training sessions for the team.
Success Indicator: Successful integration of new processes and tools, evidenced by positive feedback from the team.

Milestone 3: Enhance Collaboration and Communication (Weeks 9–14)

Objective: Foster a more collaborative and communicative team environment to improve efficiency and morale.
Activities: Organize regular team-building activities, establish clear communication channels, and promote an open-feedback culture.
Success Indicator: A noticeable increase in team cohesion and communication, as reflected in team surveys.

Milestone 4: Monitor Progress and Adjust (Weeks 15–20)

Objective: Regularly monitor the team’s performance against the set productivity goals and make adjustments as needed.
Activities: Review productivity metrics, gather team feedback, and refine processes or tools if necessary.
Success Indicator: A consistent upward trend in productivity metrics and positive feedback from the team.

Milestone 5: Achieve and Maintain Productivity Increase (Weeks 21–24)

Objective: Reach and sustain a 20% increase in productivity while maintaining or improving the quality of work.
Activities: Continue to support the team, reinforce successful strategies, and address any new challenges.
Success Indicator: Achieving a 20% increase in productivity as measured by predefined metrics, without any drop in work quality.

By setting these milestones, you can systematically work towards improving the team’s productivity in a structured and measurable way, ensuring each step contributes positively to the ultimate goal.

Use these milestones as an inspiration for the goal that you want to achieve.

Avoid All-or-Nothing Thinking

When working toward enhancing your engineering team’s productivity, it’s crucial to avoid all-or-nothing thinking. All-or-nothing thinking isn’t good because it overlooks the importance of some success and can make your team less eager to try.

Here’s how you can apply this principle using the SMART Goal of “Improve the engineering team’s productivity by 20% within the next six months”:

Celebrate Incremental Progress: Recognize and celebrate each milestone, even if it’s not the final goal. For instance, if your team has increased productivity by 10% or 15%, that’s a notable achievement. Acknowledge the hard work, innovation, and improvements that led to this progress.

Learn from Each Phase: Each stage of working towards your goal offers valuable insights. Whether it’s about team dynamics, the effectiveness of new tools, or the efficiency of processes, use these insights to refine your approach continually. Even if the ultimate goal hasn’t been reached yet, these learnings are a form of success in their own .

Reframe Your Perspective: Instead of viewing the goal as a binary success or failure, see it as a spectrum. Understand that achieving 50% of your goal means you’ve made significant improvements compared to where you started. This perspective encourages a growth mindset and keeps the team motivated.

Adjust Goals as Necessary: If you find that your initial goal of a 20% increase was overly ambitious or the context has changed (e.g., market conditions, team changes), it’s wise to adjust your goals. Revising goals isn’t a sign of failure; it’s a sign of adaptability and smart management.

Foster a Supportive Environment: Cultivate an environment where the team feels valued for their progress, not just for reaching the end goal. This approach ensures that team members stay engaged and motivated throughout the process, driving further success.

By avoiding all-or-nothing thinking, you not only create a more positive and productive atmosphere but also pave the way for sustainable growth and continuous improvement within your team.

Establish a Habit Loop

Establishing a habit loop is crucial for turning productive behaviors into automatic routines, which is especially beneficial in a team setting like that of an Engineering Manager aiming to increase productivity.

Let’s break down the parts of a habit loop and how you can establish one within your team, using the SMART Goal of “Improve the engineering team’s productivity by 20% within the next six months”:

Identify the Cue: Determine what triggers the current behavior you want to change or the new behavior you want to start. For example, the cue might be the start of a daily stand-up meeting. It acts as a signal for the team to engage in a specific productive behavior.

Define the Routine: The routine is the behavior itself, the action you want your team to automatically engage in when they encounter the cue. If the goal is to enhance productivity, the routine could be a brief period of goal-focused discussion where team members outline their tasks for the day and state their most immediate goal, ensuring everyone is aligned and knows what they need to focus on.

Set the Reward: Rewards reinforce the behavior and make it worth repeating. The reward for this productivity-focused routine could be the satisfaction of publicly declaring completed tasks in the next meeting, or maybe a team recognition system for completed milestones. This reward creates a positive association with the routine.

Create a Feedback Loop: Monitor and review the habit loop regularly. Gather feedback from the team about the cue, routine, and reward. Are they effective? Do they actually lead to increased productivity? Adjust as needed based on this feedback.

Reinforce and Repeat: The more the habit loop is repeated, the more ingrained it becomes. Regularly reinforce the importance of this loop and its positive impact on the team’s productivity. Celebrate successes and encourage the team to stick with it, especially when it’s challenging.

Replace Bad Habits: If there are existing habits that hinder productivity, use the habit loop concept to replace them. Identify the cue and reward of the bad habit and try to keep them the same, but change the routine to something more productive.
For example, if the cue is a lull in energy mid-afternoon (leading to prolonged coffee breaks or unproductive chats), introduce a routine of a 5-minute team stretch or brainstorming session, keeping the social reward but changing the activity.

By establishing a habit loop, you not only make productive behavior more automatic but also create a team culture that values and recognizes efficiency and continuous improvement. This approach can be a powerful driver in achieving your goal of increasing productivity by 20%.

Get a Mentor or Accountability Partner

Incorporating a mentor or an accountability partner into your strategy to achieve your SMART Goal of “Improve the engineering team’s productivity by 20% within the next six months” can be a game-changer.

This individual can provide the external perspective, motivation, and support necessary to keep you and your team on track towards achieving your goals. Here’s how to effectively integrate this approach:

Selecting the Right Mentor or Partner: Choose someone who has experience in team management, productivity enhancement, or the specific challenges your team is facing. This person should be someone you respect and whose advice you value. It could be a senior leader within your organization, an experienced manager from another company, or a professional mentor or coach.

Setting Expectations: Clearly communicate your goal of increasing productivity by 20% to your mentor or accountability partner. Discuss your strategy, the milestones you’ve set, and the challenges you anticipate. Establish how often you’ll meet and what each session should cover.

Regular Check-ins: Schedule regular meetings with your mentor or partner. Use these sessions to review your progress, discuss any obstacles you’re encountering, and brainstorm solutions. The regularity of these meetings provides a steady rhythm of accountability and support.

Openness to Feedback: Be open to constructive criticism. A good mentor or accountability partner will not only offer encouragement but also challenge you and your team to grow and improve. They can provide insights that you might not have considered and suggest alternative strategies to overcome hurdles.

Leveraging Experience: Use your mentor’s or partner’s experience to your advantage. They can share lessons learned from similar challenges, offer advice on best practices, and help you avoid common pitfalls. This can significantly accelerate your team’s progress and increase the likelihood of achieving your goal.

Celebrating Successes and Learning from Setbacks: Share your successes and setbacks with your mentor or partner. Celebrate the milestones you’ve achieved, and analyze any setbacks to understand what can be improved. This process of reflection and celebration helps maintain motivation and ensures continuous learning and improvement.

Adjusting the Plan: Be prepared to adjust your strategies based on the feedback and discussions with your mentor or partner. They may see things from a different perspective, offering invaluable insights that could require you to tweak your approach to achieve better results.

By having a mentor or accountability partner, you introduce an external source of motivation, guidance, and wisdom into your goal of improving productivity. This partnership can be a pivotal element in ensuring that you and your team stay focused, overcome challenges, and ultimately succeed in increasing your productivity by the targeted 20%.

Conclusion

Remember, as an Engineering Manager, you’re not just chasing targets. You’re leading a team, shaping habits, and setting the tone for how challenges are approached and overcome.

Each strategy, from setting SMART goals to engaging a mentor, is not just a step towards achieving a specific goal. It’s a step towards building a resilient, adaptable, and high-performing team. With these strategies in hand, you’re not just accomplishing goals; you’re fostering an environment of continuous growth and success.

Keep in mind that every milestone, every piece of feedback, and every adjustment is shaping not just your path to the goal, but the future of your team and your leadership.

What are your strategies to accomplish your goals? Share it in the comments.

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