.::.Easy Mind Reading.::.

Have you ever heard it said that you cannot manage or improve what you cannot measure? As a leader, you may sometimes feel that you are simply throwing mud at the wall and seeing how much of it sticks. What if instead of this approach you could empower your team to set and to achieve measurable goals? How much more productive and fulfilled would your team be if you could set in place the systems to accomplish this? If you are looking for the solution to effective goal setting, here are three principles which can really get the job done.

First, you have to get a clear picture of where things are at the moment in relation to both activities and results. Measuring only results will not allow you to clearly determine how you are getting them and measuring only activity will give you no idea of what is working and what is not. It is also important to write down what you are finding so that you will have some kind of reference point to go back to in the future. Once you have a clear picture of where things are right now, you can bet that setting goals for the future will be much more productive.

Once this is done, it is time to examine the results in proportion to activity and see where the weak spots are. There could be things which your team is doing right now which are wasting time and energy and getting very minimal results. There also may be people working for you who are caught up in the thick of thin things in order to avoid the more important issues. This ?busy work? will become apparent as you measure the results in proportion to the activities and will empower you to redirect the efforts of the team towards things which are actually going to bear fruit.

Finally, establish a long term goal which your team can work towards by fulfilling short term goals. This will ensure that you will be able to measure results and correct course along the way and reach the long term objective. During this process it is important to continue the first two actions: recording results and activities and examining the areas which are activity heavy and lacking in results. This will ensure that there will be no backsliding into the old patterns which will lead you right back to where you were before. It will also help to clarify expectations for your team.

In the implementation of these steps, the most important rule is to be consistent in applying each one as needed. Inconsistency breeds uncertainty and uncertainty is death to the momentum of a team. However, if you are consistent you will find that it is much easier to gauge what is going to produce long term results and what is only going to waste time and energy. Even a little bit consistent beats doing a lot on an inconsistent basis. This will ensure that your team will be managed effectively and that your goals will be reached.