“If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy, and inspires your hopes,” Andrew Carnegie once said. Developing a benchmark for success in leadership is critical for improving the organization and its people. Although many leaders set goals, it’s really important to clearly define what success looks like because it provides many other benefits during the process. Here are five benefits for clearly defining success:
- Motivation: Clearly defining success provides significant motivation for doing specific work each day. Because that goal is off in the distance, leaders know that each step and action they take moves them closer or further from that goal. It’s inspiring to have something to work for each day and know that progress can be made.
- Actionable: A defined benchmark for success provides ways to make sure that all actions align with that benchmark. Leaders can easily stray from the most impactful actions, but if they evaluate their actions against the larger benchmark, then there’s a clear and logical reason for action each day. Clear benchmarks allow for specific action in order to move the needle more efficiently.
- Communication: Goals and benchmarks for success act as a point of communication for where the organization is moving. Each day is an opportunity to communicate about the goal, actions around it, and the progress closer to it. Consistent conservation around the goals continues to motivate people to work for it and continue striving for excellence.
- Decisions: A specifically defined goal provides easier ways to make decisions around big topics. Does this decision help or hinder our ability to reach the goal? While many decisions are not simple yes or no answers to this question, it does move leadership closer to an answer and decision. Some decisions are significantly more challenging, but it helps to have a clear focus and direction to support the decisions.
- Process: A significant and motivating goal allows for the development of a clear process and systems. High-performance organizations need systems to help them reach larger goals. Through defining success, those systems can develop and evolve over time to help shape the direction of the work. The systems becomes clearer when there’s a goal and vision to work toward over time.
Setting a clear benchmark for success creates opportunities to use it throughout the entire process of creating change. Highly-effective leaders use goals to motivate, take action, and develop systems for growth. It’s important to develop clear goals if the organization wants to operate effectively and reach its larger vision.
How does setting a benchmark for success support growth?