Q2 or the first half of the year is just days from being over. Have you sat down and outlined what the Q3 priority is for your organization? Many organizations I have spoken with have been keeping their heads down to keep the lights on. The goals set for 2020 are likely, not accurate for your organization now. I want to challenge you today to look at July 1 as a fresh start. I want you to reconnect with your vision, establish an achievable goal for the upcoming quarter, recalibrate on what is obtainable by the end of the year, and communicate it to everyone in the organization.
Your vision or north star is not just what is hanging on the poster in the break room, a slogan plastered across your website, or something the lead team talks about from time to time. The vision must encompass what your organization is about where you are going. A proper vision statement will enable the company to make decisions for their future by seeing if it aligns with their vision. The vision of an organization is what makes employees excited to come to work every day and make a difference. Every employee should be able to share your vision with customers, family, and friends. If you need to revisit this, I strongly encourage you to do this now.
Once the vision is clarified and your employees are aligned, it is time to establish your quarterly goal. The quarterly goal is the number one priority your organization is going to focus on achieving for the next 90 days. There can only be one number one priority. Many organizations fail here because they cannot align on what is the single most important priority. Now that the goal is set, it is paired with temporary qualitative components or defining objectives. The defining objectives can be thought of the what the organization is going to change to reach the goal. Progress in the changes from the defining objectives can be measured by changes in the standard operating objectives. Standard operating objectives are the core areas the business tracks. Below is an example to follow for how this is set up. This model is based off the book “Silos, Politics, and Turf Wars” by Patrick Lencioni.
Now it is time to communicate the goal to everyone in the organization. As much as this sounds like common sense, goals often do not make it down to the employees doing the actual work; hence employees do not take ownership of the goal. To successfully reach the goal, you need buy-in from everyone in the organization and ensure resources are adequately aligned. The progress toward the goal will become a new agenda item for the weekly staff meeting.
Next, a communication strategy must be established and an owner of the communication strategy must be named. The communication strategy includes what and how frequently they will communicate to everyone in the organization. This owner will share the progress of the goal regularly. Transparency on the progress made towards the goal will keep employees engaged and increase your success rate.
Now that an achievable goal for the quarter has been established and communicated, name a small group of employees to help champion the goal. These employees will do things like make posters or signs and help motivate their coworkers. This employee group will also be in charge of planning a celebration for the end of the quarter. Base how large the celebration is on how much of the goal is achieved. If the organization hits 80%, it is a cake only celebration. If they hit 90%, it is a hamburger lunch. If they hit 100%, make it a big celebration. An idea is to bring a few food trucks on-site and have the leadership team makes ice cream sundaes. Celebrations like this go a long way in building employee engagement. Even if the team did not hit this goal, they are still going to work hard to meet next quarter’s goal because they feel valued and appreciated.
All in all, I want nothing more than for your organization to have a great quarter. Focus on refining and resharing your organization’s vision, establishing a Q3 goal, recalibrating your 2020 outcomes, and communicating with your teams. Celebrate wins, continue setting and celebrating quarterly goals, and work to build engaged organizations. If you have questions about what I covered or need help walking though any of this process, please reach out me. Go make it a great Q3!
