Mark DyslinHR Project Leader| Xerox Business Services LLCDallas, Tx, United States
I know I should be embracing this, but I can't. I can't get excited about setting personal/professional goals as part of the annual performance cycle.
They all just seem so...lame. I need an attitude change. So I thought I would reach out to the broader group. I'd love to see what you pearls you use when asked to declare your annual goals.
I have exactly the same problem. It's hard to get pumped up about attaining objectives of any kind when you know with absolute certainty that all your priorities are going to be blown to bits the first time a CxO says "hey, I have an idea" in a senior management meeting.
As a result, one approach I have is that I try not to overreach. "Showing up" seems like a reasonable goal to me. Of course my boss will review it and say that's not ambitious enough, so we haggle for a little while, and then reach a decent compromise, usually along the lines of: "showing up on time". Saving Changes...
Wai Mun KooPMO Director| Intergraph PP&MSingapore, Singapore
Julien, I can't help but keep laughing after reading your post.
I feel sorry for Mark on his experience and I am quite sure many out there share the same plight, and Julien has a valid point on this that the goals just keep changing. However, I believe this is more related to the culture and how strong the management is to support and enforce the 'stick to the goals' culture. I believe setting goals for a year might be too long since things get changed in between months. So, what we usually do is to shorten it to 3 months objectives and work on them quarterly. Having shorter timeframe to review the objectives helps to adjust and set more realistic targets and employees can better looking forward to achieve them while avoiding the situation that the objectives become obsolete. Saving Changes...
Mark DyslinHR Project Leader| Xerox Business Services LLCDallas, Tx, United States
Julien, you made my day! Showing up is, indeed, a noble and measurable goal. I have added that to my list.
At my organization, we don't have a cascading goals structure that I can siphon off ideas. I'm screwed.
Wait, I have a goal: implant a virus into the performance appraisal application which renders the goal setting feature null and void. That is measurable too! Saving Changes...
Josh NankivelEngineering Project Manager| AppleSioux Falls, Sd, United States
I like Wai's suggestion. Shorter goals, and very specific. You should be able to say with absolute certainty if you achieved them or not. Saving Changes...
Mark DyslinHR Project Leader| Xerox Business Services LLCDallas, Tx, United States
Josh:
I get the process. I've written policy and process guides about how to set goals. What I am looking for are specific examples. What are some of the actual annual goals you you have used? Saving Changes...
Andrew BrownProject Manager| eTelligent GroupSpringfield, Va, United States
Maybe I'm viewing this through the lens of indoctrination, but Wai's suggestion seems almost ... Agile. Some key phrases that stick out for me are "goals keep changing", "shorten objectives" and "adjust and set more realistic targets". Sounds an awful like an Agile approach to changing requirements and iterative development to me!
Anyway, whether or not I am just reading too much into Wai's post ... I think the adjustment/iterative approach may be a perspective worth considering. If your goals are high-level and short-termed enough to be refactored and managed in a way that returns the highest value in the shortest time, it may actually become rewarding to set personal/professional goals during your performance assessment period. Saving Changes...
Elizabeth HarrinDirector| RebelsGuideToPM.comLondon, England, United Kingdom
My goals relate to the project I have on at the moment i.e. deliver to plan/budget/scope. I think I also had one about customer satisfaction, and in keeping with the approach of making it measurable, customers give me their opinions once a month in the form of a score out of 10. I think last year I had something about mentoring/coaching other team members. Training doesn't count, neither does getting or keeping a certification/credential, as we have a separate way of recording training, but it might work for you if you are working towards something. In the past I have also had an objective around building my professional network, which was a great excuse to go to evening seminars and drinks events. Saving Changes...
Wai Mun KooPMO Director| Intergraph PP&MSingapore, Singapore
Mark,
We usually have three categories of goals to set,
1. Strategic: The goals in this category usually are cascaded from the top. Apart from running projects, we also have duties and tasks that need to be fulfilled to improve the PMO. Example, optimize project prioritization process.
2. Operation: These are related to the day-to-day projects we are running. Example, deliver one technical and one business projects successfully.
3. Development: These are related to individual development needs. Example, complete PRINCE2 Foundation & Practitioner certification.
Of course, the examples I have given above are still quite high level and it depends on individual team member to develop the goals further to be more specific. For example, one of the team member is required to complete the PRINCE2 certification within the next 6 months. Saving Changes...
THOMAS HOBBSManaging Director| Myers Media GroupSan Diego, Ca, United States
Mark, I totally feel your pain on this one - not only as a Director with a team to try to help develop, mentor, and lead, but as someone who has someone to answer to as well - so, as both writer and reviewer, it's rough business.
It's especially hard to adhere to a "SMART Goal" format for my team, because frankly, I have a hard time justifying accountability for things that my team has responsibility for, but no authority over. Meaning, how can I ding someone for a project being late if the Executive team mandates that another project have higher priority relative to resources actually doing the work? My PM's don't manage the people doing the work directly, we orchestrate the flow of tasks, try to mitigate/contain/manage project risks, etc.
I know that there are approaches to take, but it seems like I never have the bandwidth or energy to really devote to making awesome SMART goals - despite really desperately wanting to do so, since it only helps my team optimize, it's conducive to morale, it's the right thing to do, and so on ad infinitum.
Bottom line: you're not alone, man, you're not alone. Thanks for asking the question! Saving Changes...
Jonathan LangProduct Manager| Tyler Technologies / INCODE DivisionLubbock, Tx, United States
In agreeing with Wai, ask yourself this question:
What three things can I do in the next 90 days that will make the biggest difference in how I end the year?
This reduces the timeframe to avoid changing priorities, but it also focuses you on actions you can take immediately to get underway. Almost as dangerous as the goals that take all year to accomplish are the goals that you can't start on for six months because you are waiting for something else to happen.
Also, realize that a majority of the population does not think naturally in terms of goals - most of us can more easily identify problems to solve than goals to achieve. A few of us are wired to recognize opportunities and seize them. Saving Changes...
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