When Setting Goals, Lead With Growth

When Setting Goals, Lead With Growth

As leaders we have to set goals for ourselves and for those we lead.  In my February 2018 Career Tip, I wrote how goals keep a team engaged and focused.  In this Career Tip, I acknowledge the power of goals, and I also want to address when goals get out of balance.  I believe goals lose their effectiveness when they only focus on performance with specific monetary rewards for achievement.  Tim Askew from INC. Magazine, wrote in his article “The Slippery Slope of Goals” that performance goals with external rewards are not nearly as effective as goals with individual learning and mastery as the primary motivation.  Yes, performance goals are important, but we need to balance them with growth and development goals to achieve maximum effectiveness and engagement.

A mentor once told me, “When you focus on performance you may get growth. When you focus on growth, you will get performance.”  This piece of advice reminded me of the wisdom of John Wooden, the Wizard of Westwood, who won 10 NCAA Basketball National Championships in 12 years at UCLA.  As one of the most successful coaches in any sport, one would think he focused on performance outcomes (winning) only.  Not even close.  Rather, Wooden focused on what his teams could control.  Being their best.   Here is a TED talk Wooden did before he passed away on the difference between winning and succeeding.  He says, “Success is peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to do your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.”  He never focused on winning.  He only focused on developing his players and teams to be as successful as they could possibly be and reaching their full potential.  With this approach he won A LOT of basketball games.

Daniel Pink also supports this idea of development goals in his book Drive.  Pink argues that once people’s financial needs are met, they are motivated to achieve goals when they have a desire for Mastery and a sense of Autonomy/self-direction towards a driving Purpose.  If a goal is based on outcomes only, people might hit them the first time.  But, what about next time?  Instead of solely focusing on outcomes, we should be setting goals with people that help them leverage their strengths, be self-directed, and focus on a purpose that interests them.  When it is only outcome focused, we will lose people’s hearts and minds.

My mentor, Daniel Pink and John Wooden do not discount results.  Results do matter.  However, start with focusing on growth and development and people being their best, and performance results will follow.