Reach for the Goals

The Star Online > Lifefocus

Friday August 19, 2005



Reach for the goals

By DATIN T.D. AMPIKAIPAKAN

A concerned leader of a team was getting very frustrated trying to get his team members to understand the goals, mission and vision of the organisation.

It is the same story everywhere. We start a business. We have a clear idea of what we want to do and how to manage it. Then we begin to hire people and, somewhere along the line, they lose sight of the vision and mission of the company. And all too quickly, they develop bad habits and attitudes; they become complacent and lazy. They get stuck in a routine, their energy levels dip and they fail to perform.

There is always a reason for doing business in the first place. Ask anyone, from a CEO of a multinational to a hawker selling chee cheong fun (my favourite breakfast snack), and both will tell you the following:

The hawker: "I must choose the right place to sell the chee cheong fun! The food must be good and tasty. Then customers will come. Every day, I must sell all. My chee cheong fun is homemade and the quality is very good." (Simple philosophy and good goals set for business at hand.)

The CEO: "Quality product and service are the keys to success. People want value for money and service satisfaction. We must deliver what we promise and promise only what we can deliver." (Specific goals set for the business.)

The hawker is often very successful because he has family support that provides a personal touch to his business. He is constantly watching out for his regular customers, treating them with extra care and giving them what they want. This is the advantage the hawker has.

In a big organisation, however, once you start a company, you have to depend on other people - your employees - to deliver what the company has promised. Therein lies the root of the problem. How does a boss convince his employees that the goals set by him are non-negotiable? How does the employer get the employees to flow in the same direction?

Putting things into perspective is the key. People who have no goals lack clear direction (except to learn crisis management). The leader of the organisation should do the following:


a.. Hire the right people for the job. We are sometimes too caring when we hire friends of friends and people who are recommended by others. Hence we sometimes land up with people who have no attitude or aptitude to learn and understand the corporate goals that need to be practised.

a.. Teach skills, both technical and soft. This is necessary to ensure that there is complete understanding of the goals set by the leader. But this is often the last thing that companies do; training is often considered optional. Bosses do not realise that the people they hire need to understand what is important to the company and what needs to be learnt. Bosses often forget that their employees come from different companies, bringing various corporate cultural baggage. Gelling with other employees can be difficult and tiresome - all the more reason why orientation to the new corporate goals is vital. Every new employee has to be initiated.

a.. Put the value system in place so that employees know what ethical values are to be practised, what rules cannot be broken and what rules can be bent without harming anyone.

a.. Create an atmosphere that would encourage and motivate the employees to excel and practise the goals that have been determined by team leaders.

a.. Create a sense of professionalism. If people have personal issues in dealing with one another, they cannot let them get in the way of doing their work well.

a.. Constantly remind employees that goals have to be met and standards maintained so that targets are achieved. This strategy often motivates people and challenges them to achieve results as well as teaches them to set personal goals.

a.. Allow employees to create a balance between work and home. This will prevent burnout and encourage people to enjoy coming to work even if it is a routine job.
There is always a bigger picture in everything we do. We set goals because they empower us to achieve our dreams, big or small. The greatest tragedy is not in not fulfilling one's goals but in not having any goals at all to reach. When companies do not plan for the future, when they do not have clear objectives and when they do not encourage their employees to make goals, they are headed for stagnation.

If team leaders do not set goals that motivate their members, they will not earn the respect they deserve. Employees must understand what is expected of them. Employers must be able to coach them adequately. Goals set have to be achievable and everyone must be given the opportunity to acquire the necessary skills to obtain the desired results.

Ponder on these questions:

1. What is the purpose of your work with the company you have joined?

2. What do you want to achieve in your work?

3. What would you like your professional life to be like, five years down the road?

4. What is the direction of your personal life?

5. What role model do you want to be for your family?