The Importance Of Setting And Achieving Goals In Your Business St. Charles, IL
Have you ever wondered why people make new-year resolutions or set targets before they set out to work? Or have you ever thought why some are capable of ticking off all after goal setting and some give up after struggling? It’s simply because goal setting makes the dream seem achievable and motivates you to increase your efforts. Imagine fuelling an airplane engine, taking off and not knowing where you are headed mid-air. Chances are you will either run out of fuel or tire out to stop before reaching your desired destination. On the flip side, imagine setting a destination, fuelling the tank accordingly and setting a time frame. This will ensure you reach your destination on time with enough fuel.
What do goals mean to you? The word “goal” may immediately draw up a picture of a football match in your head. However, goals hold a wider meaning when they form part of the management literature. In simple terms, a goal is something you aim for. Goal setting is understood as the process of defining these aims and objectives with certain guidelines to help you achieve the set goals. According to Wikipedia, Goal setting involves the development of an action plan designed to motivate and guide a person or group towards a goal. This definition is perfect for it highlights the two main aspects of goal setting, that is, action plan and its end agenda to motivate.
Imagine yourself in the gym, performing continuous circuit training sets, your goal may be to complete four such sets. After three sets, you feel like giving up but because your goal is set at four, you will feel the drive to push yourself and complete the fourth. And if you perform with a group, the performance, and completion of your goals will inspire and motivate others to complete theirs by putting in that extra bit of effort.
The same process takes place at your workplace. You set a goal, you create an action plan to achieve it and this motivates you and your team to complete the work set. Seems simple right?
What are the Benefits of Goal Setting?
A ship requires a direction and efforts of the crew to reach the port. Similarly, a business requires a vision backed by actions to succeed. Goals are an intermediate step to perform the right actions. Having a broad plan and vision lays the foundation, breaking it into achievable goals helps build the company.
Setting Goals Increases Motivation
Reaching our goals, makes us feel happy. However, setting our goals and falling short to reach them makes us feel equally miserable. According to Prospect theory, this feeling of “short-coming” hurts people more than the feeling of happiness experienced as a result of success. Thus, imagine you and your employees have goals set, and you fail to reach them for xyz reasons. You are more likely to be motivated to put in extra effort in order to avoid negative feelings.
Reduces Stress In The Workplace
Imagine you study all subjects in a year and are required to take exams without knowing the schedule or required marks to pass. Sounds absurd and stressful right?
Goal setting ensures that the focus of employees and managers are focused on essential tasks. It guarantees smooth transitioning between projects and weekly targets.
In fact, a balanced set of goals also improves the efficiency of employees by reducing monotony in work. All these contribute to higher productivity, better profits and automatically lesser stress.
Improves Employee Engagement
A study found that employees with clear goals worked faster and more efficiently irrespective of the money factor. This is simply because goal setting keeps them motivated by adding to their feeling of achievement. It also makes them feel important when they schedule their own targets and complete it.
A no-brainer would be to combine both and keep rewards as incentives when an employee reaches a goal.
This list of benefits is not an exhaustive list, goal setting has its own advantages for your employees, team, and company as a whole if done effectively. This makes goal setting a major instrument for attaining a highly productive and driven team.
If you have enjoyed this blog article, please take the time to learn more about us and our company at:
– > https://www.rainmakerforcontractors.com
