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Focusing
Activity Three: Setting Goals
Team goals are statements
that guide teams to meet their responsibilities and business needs. If
goals are clear and doable, they not only serve as a team’s blueprint
for action, they also serve as its energy.
Goals are important on many different levels:
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Goals set standards for improvement
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They focus activity
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They measure progress
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They connect the team to the organization
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They motivate and energize
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They are the basis for decision making
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They shape the “truth” and purpose for
a team
The best goals are SMART goals. This
means that they should be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic,
and Timely.
Activity Directions…
Step
One:
To
motivate team members to begin thinking meaningfully about goal setting,
have them answer two thought questions:
First--“Why
does this team exist?”
Second--Once
the first question has been addressed, “What is the best case
scenario to describe what this team would accomplish—our ideal
future?”
Step
Two:
Considering
the reasons for our team’s existence and our vision of its ideal
future, individually write out three things that you would personally
like the team to accomplish by the end of next year (adjust the
timeframe to fit your team’s situation).
In other words, what would you like to see as team goals?
Step Three:
Have
each individual share his or her desired team goals.
List them on a white board and then cull, group, and prioritize
them. Then test your top
goals against SMART criteria: Are your goals Specific, Measurable,
Achievable, Realistic, and Timely?
Step
Four:
Activate
your selected goals by completing the goal chart below:
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Goal
Statements
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Key
person
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Resources
needed
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People
who can help
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Indicators
of Success
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Timeline
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Goal One:
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Goal Two:
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Goal Three
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Etc.
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Step
Five:
Follow-up
discussion questions:
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What are some barriers that might make it
difficult to reach each goal?
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How can those barriers be overcome?
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What are some things that you can do
individually to help achieve the team goals?
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How should we recognize or celebrate when
we reach a goal?
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How do we hold ourselves accountable for
reaching each goal?
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How do we stay in touch with our goals?
In other words, how do we keep the goals fresh in our minds
so that we don’t “forget” them or not pay attention to them?
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How can we make reaching our goals more
efficient? Enjoyable?
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