By Thomas Davis, CRNA, MAE, DNAP candidate

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“Without continual growth and progress, words such as improvement, achievement and success would have no meaning.”

~Benjamin Franklin

Keeping the workplace relevant involves updating goals, re-defining the workflow to provide better service to clients and staying ahead of competitors. Establishing new team goals that leverage new technology while reflecting social change, positions the organization to remain relevant in the foreseeable future.  A positive spinoff of new team goals is the energy and enthusiasm that is injected into the team as the status quo is shaken when the group challenged with a new task.  The time and effort spent assessing current priorities, anticipating future trends and establishing new goals will revitalize the team and paint them as the face of leadership in the organization.

Start with a comprehensive assessment.  Review the team goals that were established a year ago and note which were achieved, discarded or ongoing.  Goals that have been achieved deserve a high five and can be crossed off the list.  Items that slipped off the radar screen and were not achieved deserve to be re-assessed.  If they are no longer relevant, cross them off the list, however, if it’s a should do that lost momentum, move it back to the active list and create a plan to ensure completion.  Ongoing goals merit a progress report and tweaking of the plan to ensure that the goal is achieved.

Develop a written list.  Following your assessments, develop new goals for the upcoming year and put them in writing.  A written list will organize your thoughts and give you something concrete to publish for others to review.  Include all pertinent goals that remain from the prior year along with the modifications needed for successful achievement of the objective.  Next, anticipate the new priorities needed to align your team with the greater goal of the organization and add them to your forecast. Following completion, prioritize and notate the items on your written list.

Clarify your goals.  Teams suffer when a leader’s vision for the future is vague; people are most productive when they know exactly what is being requested of them, the resources that are available and the timeline for completion.  Goals should be written in language that is specific, measurable and attainable and each should include a timeline with milestones to mark the team’s progress.  Once the list has been presented to the team, each person should know exactly what is expected and their role in the plan.

A bonus for establishing and clarifying goals is the opportunity for mentoring.  During the progression of self-reflection, the review of old goals and establishing new ones, invite one or two of the up-and-comers on your team to participate in the activity.   Mentees benefit from being included in the discussion and learning the process of uniting a team with the greater goals of the organization.  In addition, you will benefit from the insight provided by subordinates who view the workplace from the grassroots level.

After the goals have been established and clarified, organize a team meeting to present the new agenda positively, proactively and energetically. As described in Leader Reader 1, Authentic Lessons in Leadership, your leadership attitude during the roll-out sets the tone for the group and your enthusiasm creates an expectation for success.  At the meeting, establish the importance for change, outline an overview of the plan, establish a timeline and identify key people to take charge of specific projects.  A congenial team meeting that has been well-planned creates an atmosphere of shared responsibility wherein each person wants to contribute to the team’s success.

“Always plan ahead. It wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark.”

~ Richard Cushing, Catholic priest

Staying ahead of the times in the workplace can be challenging so take advantage of the changes that occur naturally with the passage of time.  View social change as an invitation to renew and re-focus the priorities of your team.  Like cleaning the closet and discarding old items to make room for the new, make an honest assessment of workplace priorities and remove the goals that have been completed or that no longer apply. Then boldly, confidently, and proudly introduce your team to the new priorities for the year.  Your efforts will be rewarded as your team takes the lead and works with renewed energy to ensure that your clients and patients receive superlative service.

“Every minute you spend in planning saves 10 minutes in execution; this gives you a 1,000 percent return on energy!”

~Brian Tracy, author and motivational speaker

Tom is a noted author, speaker and team building coach.  

Leader Reader 1, Authentic lessons in leadership is a practical guide that is loaded with tips for enhancing your leadership skills.