32 / MANAGING A TEAMSetting goals and planning
Planning is a key skill for any manager and starts with having a good
understanding of the organization’s objectives. It involves establishing
a strategy for achieving those goals using the personnel available, and
developing the means to integrate and coordinate necessary activities.Knowing your goals
Planning is concerned with ends
(what needs to be done) and means
(how those ends are to be achieved).
In order to create a plan, managers
must first identify the organization’s
goals—what it is trying to achieve.Planning and monitoring
Goals are the foundation of all other
planning activities. They refer to
the desired outcomes for the entire
organization, for groups and teams
within the organization, and for
individuals. In the best organizations,
employees and teams work closely
with their managers to set their own
goals and plan courses of action. Goals
provide the direction for all management
decisions and form the criteria against
which actual accomplishments can
be measured.LOOK TO THE FUTURE
Write down three SMART
goals that you want your
team to achieve in the next
five years, and then plan
how you will reach them.Tip
Define your overall goals,
by asking questions such
as “Why do we exist?”
and “What do we do?”Thoroughly analyze your
working environment, to
identify opportunities you
can exploit and threats
you may encounter.Use the results to set
objectives that you want to
meet. These will create a
standard against which to
measure your progress.How to develop and
implement a planUS_032-033_Setting_Goals_and_Planning.indd 32 31/05/16 5:28 pm