By J. Mason
Online Career Tips Editor
Some of the most cliche lines you’ll hear in an office setting refer to accomplishing a goal. My guess for this is that in business and in life we’re always striving for satisfaction and completion. If we always stop before we see the end result then what makes the effort worth all the trouble? Without an end in sight what are you trying to achieve with your hard work? This is what makes completing your goals so important.
Not every goal ends with the result we’re hoping for. For example, you have an event that you invited over 200 people to attend. At the time of the event only 50 people showed up but you and your crew did everything according to your plans. Did you reach your goal, or was the event a complete failure? This all depends on what the goal was. If the ideal was to have people show up, accomplish a short list of tasks, and create great buzz for your company then great. What if you were trying to just fill up the room with as many people as possible? It’s better to have a set of parameters in place in order to gauge success. Your goals should be realistic and beneficial to a campaign.
On the lighter side of goal tracking there’s probably a list of monthly or quarterly tasks you have to accomplish. Do you get these done on time? If not, this is where you could be short changing yourself. Deadlines should be considered goals as well. If there were no deadlines what would you work towards? Having an end in sight creates motivation and dedication to any project, large or small.
What’s worse is coming up with something innovative on your own and letting it fall flat. It can be intimidating to steer a large project by yourself, but make it easier by setting up timelines and meetings at the start. The day you start to brainstorm set up a meeting with people you want involved, then start putting tasks into your project management system at work. This way you’re giving the project some momentum without having to be on top of it 24/7.
If you’ve never felt the satisfaction of completing something big at work then start with baby steps. First complete all the tasks your manager has assigned to you, then move on to bigger projects. It never hurts to ask if you can “pinch hit” at the end of a big project within your department. This way you can say you helped to accomplish a goal with a large team. Even if you don’t get your desired outcome the first time around don’t stop shy of the finish line. Halting early could create anxiety. Instead, finish strong and confident and take notes for a better outcome the next time around.
How did you do on last week’s bad habit, working in a silo? Give your coworkers a signal to let them know when you’re available for assistance or help. You can do this by simply sending an email offering your services, or by extending an olive branch and allowing team members to help you with a closed project.
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