Aligning Dreams And Goals
Different types of goals and how to approach them as manager
I am a big believer in goals. As a manager, it is one of my non-negotiables. Every three months I sit down with my reports to talk about goals. We work through their previous objectives — what they did or did not achieve and why. Then we focus on the next quarter and the areas they want to grow in. The result is a new or refreshed set of goals which starts the cycle all over again.
As a regular and repeating process, this is very straightforward. However, taking the human element into account, setting goals can get very personal. Everybody has their own short- and long-term ambitions and is at a different stage in their career. So your approach — as manager — has to be very individual and adaptive to the situation.
Three Types Of Goals
Every goal should be tailored to the individual. This does not mean there are not commonalities at all between them. Over time, I have found there are three types of goals, which we will discuss below.
Note: We start every section off with an example, and then dive into how the type can be approached from the managers perspective.
The Aligned Goal
Matt has been a software engineer for just over a year. He is currently working with a team that is doing some important, but straightforward work on the backend of the application. Since Matt is still new, he requires quite a bit of day-to-day support from his teammates. He is keen to hone his engineering skills and become an independent contributor.
Setting a goal for Matt sounds straightforward. This is the kind of situation you hope for. His desired focus can be directly translated into an objective: Become a contributor that can work independently.
A goal is aligned, when it cascades down nicely from the business objective. In other words, it slots into the team’s work — and therefore the business — without any extra effort. Matt’s goal directly helps the team with their objectives (to complete work on the backend), by becoming a more efficient contributor.
As the manager, all you have to do is focus on the details. In particular, you want to make sure the objective is backed by some good and measurable metrics. What does it mean to become an independent contributor? What does success look like in three months?
The Career Move
Libby is a senior software engineer and has been in her role for about three years. While she loves her job, she is also excited to see what her next career step could be. She is particularly interested in technical leadership, and wants to help the company maintain its technical advantage.
This is a trickier situation. The goal cannot be directly derived from Libby’s ambition. And even if it could be, there is a fine balance to be struck between advancing Libby’s career and ensuring the team’s success.
Libby should not completely drop her current day-to-day activities to pursue the new role, expect in an emergency. This would be very disruptive for the team, and it does not set her up for success. Neither is it a good option to completely ignore her wish and force her to stay put.
The key is to find a gradual path for your report to transition into the new role. Ideally, this happens alongside the current responsibilities. Such an approach not only maximises the team’s impact, it also sets the person up for success by ensuring they get lots of support along the way.
In Libby’s case, you eventually settle on a goal for her to take co-ownership of the team’s technical decisions. Taking responsibility in a new area allows Libby to stretch herself, while ensuring she can still be impactful in her current area of expertise.
The Dream
One of the really solid engineers on your team is Tobi. So far, Tobi has progressed nicely in his career, and you are confident he would be a great contributor going forward. However, Tobi has expressed a clear interest in a completely different area. In the next three to five years he wants to become a firefighter.
What a bombshell. Most of us will need a moment or two to re-focus after hearing a statement like this. Finding a goal for Tobi will need lots of work and discussion.
Of course you could try to talk the other person out of it. Even worse, you could force an ultimatum which might end the employment there and then. Do not go down that path.
If the person is doing good work, you want to keep him on board and motivated for as long as possible. There might always be a chance of plans changing. You need to make sure the person stays aligned and focused, while supporting them in their dreams to ensure motivation.
But how can you create a goal around Tobi’s dream to become a firefighter?
Finding A Common Denominator
A big trap is to try and set a goal aimed directly towards the dream. For example, you sponsor Tobi to take a firefighting course during work time, which takes up half his time. This is not as unlikely as it sounds. As manager, you want to please him to make sure he sticks around for as long as possible. The big danger is that he will lose contact to the rest of team and his performance drops.
Another approach is to bring the conversation one level down, and make it about skills. Here is how it works, explained with the firefighter example:
- Analyse what skills are necessary as a firefighter (the dream) and as a software engineer (the current role).
- Identify one or more shared skills. A shared skill is something that is required in both jobs.
- Find a goal around improving the shared skill in the current role.
An objective focused on a shared skill helps the person become more effective in the current role, but also gets them one step closer towards their dream.
This approach is — of course — a compromise. But it strikes a good balance between the needs of the team and company, as well as the long-term development of the individual. Done well, it ensures someone’s motivation as well as their commitment and focus on the team.
So, what about Tobi? You start off by having a few in-depth chats to understand more about being a firefighter. Eventually, you come to the conclusion that one of the shared skills is around communication. Both firefighters and engineers are embedded in a team, and need to be good at communicating with their group. Therefore, Tobi’s goal is to improve the overall communication within the team.
Recap
Working through a person’s goals can be a tricky affair. As manager, your approach has to be very individual and adaptive to the situation. Especially an employee’s desire to focus on a dream unrelated to work is a tough assignment.
A good approach is to focus on the underlying skills, and create goals around those skills that are shared. This supports the individual with their aspiration, and ensures a high degree of motivation in the current role.
I am keen to here about your experiences when setting goals. Have you come across any other types of goals?
