“How to set goals that challenge, inspire and motivate team, in adverse market conditions?”
Usually, goals are set top-down, factoring growth in line with best achieved until then, often ignoring market conditions. This works in a growth market, but not in adverse situations. Growing against market headwinds may need burning excess fuel. On another side when people fail despite best efforts, they become reticent. Keeping focus on top priorities (top & bottom line, cost reduction and customer satisfaction), how you could set goals?
- Focus on areas that impact strategic objectives and those that may still be in the growth phase. Emphasise on operating discipline – curbing wastage, slashing non -essential expenditure, tightly managing current assets, profits and customer satisfaction.
- Outlining broad expectations, ask your leaders to present their plans keeping in mind a balance between ambition and risk.
- This process gives ownership and accountability and they will make every effort to meet their objectives.
- On a consolidated basis, we can always adjust certain goals to make sure the overall organisation remains on track, but such changes should be marginal.
- Good companies have winners and making your top team feel like losers is counterproductive.
So how do you want to deal with this most important issue, that will determine the plight of all stakeholders?
For ZEUS, by Pradeep Sen
Further insight: https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/the-organization-blog/how-effectiv
