Setting personal or professional goals can be uncomfortable and daunting. You might think: Is the goal hard enough? Can I achieve it? Will others try to keep me from attaining that goal? Instead of writing your goal down and shoving it into a drawer and hoping you can stay on track, try collaborating with others to achieve the goal. First, you need to find others to collaborate with and then you need to be mindful on how you are communicating with this new network.
How to Collaborate with Others for Goal Achievement
1. Create personal accountability. First, you need to tell others about your goal. Let your friends, family, and co-workers know what you are trying to accomplish so they can help support your journey. If you have a group goal of bringing in a certain amount of new business, you will need to be very transparent not only with your workgroup, but also other areas of the business so others can assist in making the goal happen. For instance, if the sales team makes a goal of new business, the marketing team needs to be in the know so they can structure their communication properly. Silos often form when there isn’t one cohesive goal consistently communicated in a workplace.
2. Think win-win. How can you align your goal with the goals of others so that both of you are making forward progress? If your team has its group goals, ensure you are asking what other groups’ goals are so you can align the goals with each other and provide support. Sharing information creates a win-win scenario.
3. Build a support network. Third, you need to find like-minded groups. Even though our family and friends love us, they may have different interests or completely different goals, so their support may not be enough to get through the rough spots. A great way to start finding like-minded groups is to search through different social media platforms or apps. There are groups for professionals in certain industries, in certain roles, or if you can’t find one, you can always start one! Websites such as meetup.com also provide assistance with finding groups with your same goal. Joining professional associations also give work groups access to data that would be hard for a single group to obtain themselves.
Belonging to a group that shares your similar goal gives you access to more resources, whether it is hearing where others may have had trouble overcoming an obstacle or suggestions on what to read, what to try, or other networks to turn to for help.
How to Communicate with Your Collaborators on Your Goals
Once you have your network of collaborators, it is important to ensure you are communicating properly with them. Here are three things you need to do in order for constructive communication to happen.
1.Figure out how to track your progress. If your goal is a business goal, you may need a project management tool that breaks down the goal into “chunks”. If the goal involves a team, a project management tool keeps everyone on the same page and moving in the same direction.
2. Decide when and how you will report progress. Once you have begun tracking data, you need to figure out how you will communicate the information to others. Are there “check-in” meetings with a team? If you have a business goal, you may need to have monthly pipeline meetings to see where you stand month over month with the goal. Personal goals also require benchmarks to note progress and there are apps to track data and provide feedback.
3. Ensure you are giving feedback to others. An important part of goal collaboration is listening, acknowledging, and providing feedback to everyone in the group. It is important to understand your communication style as well as those in your group so you know how to provide feedback and ideas.
Working with your group on personal or business goals requires a set process and benchmarking so you know where you stand in regards to the overall goal. This data allows you to make small adjustments so you can “fail forward.”
Leadership Extension Can Help You Collaborate and Set Goals
If you are looking to set a personal or business goal and need some guidance on the process to get you started on the right path and track your progress, please contact me at sgandsey@leadershipextension.com.