Setting Professional Goals for Managers

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Setting Professional Goals for Managers

It is well established by both experts and the research that they’ve done that managers who set goals achieve a higher rate of success. Knowing the why of goal setting, we present a number of writers’ suggestions for choosing goals that will boost your career and your life. In fact, settings goals for managers is good not only for yourself, but also for your managers.

Freelance journalist and content writer, Kate Ashford, provides a methodology for establishing your work goals in 6 steps:

6 Steps by Kate Ashford

  1. Start With Your End Goal in Mind
  2. Review Your Most Recent Performance Evaluation
  3. Set SMART Goals that are
    1. Specific
    2. Measurable
    3. Achievable
    4. Relevant
    5. Time-bound
  4. Create a Strategy for Reaching Each Goal
  5. Make Time to Pursue Your Goal
  6. Regularly Check in With Yourself

In summary, the 6 steps is a great step forward in establishing your word goals. However, author Darius Foroux claims the most powerful productivity technique has only two steps:

2 Steps by Darius Foroux

Step #1: Physically get in your work position.
Step #2: Do one small thing.

In addition, according to one Gallup report, managers who work for engaged leaders are 39% more likely to be engaged. Employees who work for engaged managers are 59% more likely to be engaged.

Moreover, here are some recommendations for leaders to set goals to support engagement

10 Recommendations for Leaders to Set Goals

  1. Develop soft skills
  2. Learn how to have effective 1 on 1s
  3. Be a more effective listener
  4. Learn how to get buy-in
  5. Teach team members time management skills
  6. Learn to manage your energy and stay positive
  7. Help them develop a growth mindset
  8. Become a regular reader
  9.  Be a great coach
  10.  Identify future leaders

The current management trend that centers on goal setting for managers encourages a focus on self-improvement and soft skills. Most importantly, the emphasis is on teamwork, vision, and communication, with a strong element of leading by example. Leaders who are engaged, exhibit empathy, and communicate well, and this substantially increases their chance of success.

Of course, setting goals alone will not achieve success. Lindsey Pollak suggests 5 creative ways to get to where you want to go.

5 Create Ways by Lindsey Pollak

  1. Find learning opportunities at speaking events
  2. Up your worth with a certification
  3. Become the expert in your department by reading, reading, reading
  4. Identify what your employees need to know — for their benefit and yours
  5. Open up their world with moocs (massive open online course)

Setting professional goals for managers is not a simple or easy process. Attaining your professional goals may be even more challenging. It requires patience, commitment, and focus. However, the experts agree that systematically setting goals and working carefully and steadily to reach them is the key to success.

In addition, perhaps the most difficult aspect of the goal-setting process is the need for honest and careful self-evaluation. Our award-winning coaches at the Ignite Your Potential Centers can provide you with an honest assessment of your communication style. Be open-minded and willing to accept helpful criticism in your evaluations. However, if you make this an ongoing process and check-in with yourself on a regular and consistent basis, you will begin to see the fruits of your commitment with happier team members producing more.

If you want to learn more about setting goals for managers and how it can help you achieve success in both your professional and personal life our award-winning coaches at the Ignite Your Potential Centers offer complimentary 25-minute phone sessions.

We are the #1 career coaches in San Francisco and Los Angeles, let us show you how we earned that praise.

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