Leading by Achieving ANY Goal

Would you sit in front of a campfire and say, “Give me more heat, then I’ll give you more wood.” Of course not! You need to “earn” the heat by investing your time and energy gathering the wood, lugging it back to camp, arranging it in the pit, fanning the glowing embers; then you get more heat. Yet many people think they can “make” more money by sitting in front of their managers and saying, “Give me a raise, then I’ll perform better, increase quality, improve teamwork…” That’s no way to get a raise! The best way to make money OR ACHIEVE ANY GOAL is to follow four fundamental steps:

            1. Write a S.M.A.R.T. goal. Professors Locke and Latham review 393 separate goal studies in their book, Goal Setting and Task Performance. Their research clearly demonstrates that you increase your chances of getting what you want when you write a S.M.A.R.T. goal. An example might be: I will receive a 10% raise by December 1, 20… Begin your journey by writing a goal. Burn your goal into your subconscious mind by reviewing it every morning and evening as you take the next three steps to reaching your goal.

            2. Increase commitment to that goal. Achieving any goal is often filled with many obstacles. The true measure of your commitment to any goal is how you stay connected when (not if) you encounter these barriers. In fact, the word commit comes from the word Latin committere, “to connect.” Where there is no commitment there is no connection to the goal. Researchers tell us that there are several ways to stay connected to any goal, two of which are identified below:

            Value – This is the “WHY” behind your goal. A strong why will overcome almost any obstacle. Write a few answers to these questions to find the value in your goal: Why do you want to reach your goal? What will you do when you reach it? How will reaching the goal help you, your family, customers, and employer? Review these answers whenever you encounter obstacles on your path of success.

            Publicness – Put yourself on the spot by telling supportive family and friends what you are aiming for. They will help you stay accountable to your goal. Don’t tell those Negaholics. These “optimistically challenged” people will drag you down.

            3. Strengthen your belief you can reach your goal. If you want to achieve, you have to believe. The belief that best predicts goal achievement is called self-efficacy – the little voice in your head that believes that you can (or cannot) take the steps to reach your goal. A great way to strengthen this belief is to learn from those who have reached the goal you are striving for. Who has climbed the mountain you are scaling? What did they need to learn to reach this goal? How did they do it?

            4. Use feedback to stay on track. As you take the action to reach your goal you will receive lots of feedback, some negative and some positive, from people and circumstances. There is no failure, only feedback. Failure is failing to learn from feedback. Turn negative experiences into positive learning opportunities by asking your manager, colleagues, and self about the lessons learned. Also, when you make a little progress toward your goal, give yourself positive feedback by using little rewards.

We don’t sit in front of the campfire and say, “Give me more heat, then I’ll give you more wood.” Setting AND getting any goal, requires that leaders commit to it, believe they can reach it, and use feedback to stay on track.

How do you to stay committed? What techniques do you use that strengthen your beliefs? Do you have any tips that help you use feedback to stay on track?

            Keep eXpanding your leadership,

            Dave

P.S. Dave Jensen and his team transform proven leadership tools into your success stories. Dave is an executive coach and an engaging speaker at conferences, meetings, and retreats. He can be reached in Los Angeles, CA at (310) 397-6686. Click here for more info about the research-based, online 360-leadership assessment (XLM): http://xlmassessment.com/ )

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