Set Goals to Fuel Strong Desire and Commitment

We’ve all heard of the 1979 Harvard study on goal setting: 84% of graduates had no specific goals; 13% had mental goals; and only 3 % had clearly written goals with a strategy to accomplish them. Results? The 3% were earning on average ten times more than the other 97% combined! The power of goal setting.

In our current sales-specific research, we find that high performing sales people and entrepreneurs set goals 100% of the time. Low performers, only 16%. That’s a big difference, isn’t it? The power of goal setting.
 
At a recent business and sales conference, Level Up, I talked about strategies to navigate a difficult “season.” The answer? Goal setting pulls you out of the doldrums and gets you moving forward.
 
Set Goals to Fuel Strong Desire and Commitment is the fourth action step to sharpen self-listening. Show young leaders how to look inside themselves to discover compelling goals.
 
For young sales, business and entrepreneurial leaders without much life experience, goal setting is challenging. One young leader confessed that his mind goes blank whenever anyone talks about setting goals. For others, short-term goals are crystal clear, but the long-term objectives are fuzzy. Other times, the long-term vision is clear and the next step is illusive. That’s okay! Everyone is uniquely gifted.
 
What are your preferred goal setting practices?  What insights have you gleaned about the tenacity and persistence needed to moving forward step by step, even if the steps are small?

Emerging Leaders Need Help
Here are a few tips to use when you coach emerging leaders on setting goals – professional and personal.

One of my favorite mentors, Zig Ziglar, said, “If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time.”

Remind future leaders to:

•          Take charge.

Be proactive.  Set their own personal, career, and life goals – or someone else will. 

•          Work a process.

Interactive questions help in defining and refining one’s hopes and dreams. They can clarify both short-term and long-range goals. Feel free to use my eBook, Energize Your Dreams, for a guide. Get a copy of the 24-page workbook by e-Mailing me at Danita@SalesGS.com. Put “Send Energize Your Dreams” in the subject line.
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•          Review regularly.

Set aside time, daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly, to review and revise. Remind them to review goals when feeling down or at a loss for direction.

•          Stay focused.

Challenges and obstacles will come. They must refuse to allow chaotic conditions to destroy their dreams and goals.  When they focus on the step-by-step positive developments and good outcomes, they will stay on course.

Give young leaders hope for the future. Don’t prescribe answers to challenges, help them discover their own dream and to sharpen their self-listening skills.

Encourage a courageous character core, so they will be able to reap the power of goal setting.

​Leadership question: What might you do to encourage the future leaders you coach to set, and achieve their goals?
 
Leadership lesson:  Every leader needs a clearly defined plan and a strategy to achieve their short-term and long-term goals.

​​​© Copyright Danita Bye, 2016