Easy to set goals and make resolutions…hard to achieve them. Here are 10 questions that have helped many achieve success.
Whatever your goal…
1. Why do you want to achieve it?
2. Why is that important to you?
3. Why is that important to you?
4. Why is that important to you?
5. Why is that important to you?
Read Why 5 for more detail on 1-5.
If your resolution or goal passes the Why 5 test, move on to #6.
6. What are the three to five most important activities needed for you to achieve your goal?
For example, let’s take Sally’s goal of increasing sales by 20%.
If Sally had been s a sales executive, her key activities for success would have included spending more time with customers. In person. Calling to check on them. Asking about their current needs. Sending articles of interest. Showing genuine interest.
Since she was a sales manager, her key activities for success included things like spending more time providing the tools and support needed by her sales team.
7. How much of each of these are you doing now? How much time are you spending?
I asked Sally how much time she was currently spending in support of her team. It wasn’t much. She spent most of her time doing reports for corporate, answering email and shuffling papers; trying real hard to make herself available for her team members (5 in all) whenever they had questions. But THEY were the key to making the 20% sales increase she needed and wanted; not the reports, emails and papers.
8. How much more do you need to do/want to do (on a daily and weekly basis) so that you can reach your goal?
The revelations from #7 helped her make the shift from reactive to proactive with her team. She decided that for starters, she would set aside 5 hours per week to work with her team members.
9. What’s your time frame for this new approach?
She decided to try this for 6 weeks and then re-evaluate based on reaction and results.
10. How will you monitor and reinforce yourself?
Schedule the time on your calendar. Make it early in the day so you get it done first. Make a tally sheet. Doesn’t have to be fancy. Just write the activities down on a sheet of paper, make little hash marks and tally them up at the end of the week. Give yourself a gold star for each success.
Sally set up morning meetings with each of her team members. One each day. 30-45 minutes each. And she kept a running list of their requests and her responses so she could enjoy and celebrate the difference she was making for them and for herself.
She also discussed progress at our monthly coaching sessions and we both cheered accordingly.
Important Note: Sally was careful about the shift she made between #7 and #8 . Her team members were used to operating independently. For her to all of the sudden get real involved in their business might de-rail the train. So first she just set up a meeting with each of them to ask them about their goals, the obstacles they faced and what kind of support or resources could help them.
She learned something new and different from each of them. Each one had different needs. She worked to provide what each one needed.
After 6 weeks, sales were up. And so was morale. Her team appreciated her genuine interest and support. And she was having a blast! Much more fun than all those reports and papers. So she stuck with the plan. No hashtags and monitoring any more. It was part of her routine. And she was loving it!
Jan is a coach, speaker and writer.
Her specialty as a coach is working with leaders to take charge in more effective ways, make things happen and inspire others to do the same.
Sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? Learn more here.
*Note: 10 by 10 on Tuesday (also know as a Quick List) is a weekly feature is for managers who don’t have time or don’t want to make time to read lengthy articles or even short paragraphs. Here you will find 10 tips or questions or steps or ways to Get 2 Goal or Be a Better Manager, etc). And it will be posted by 10 (AM – EST) on Tuesdays. Here’s our collection of Quick Lists to date.
