Setting SMART Goals - Lesson 4

Now that we've identified that the SMART process can be used not just personally and individually, but also for a team, I want to share six things with you that are going to have an impact on making those SMART plans effective within a team. Because there's going to be a dynamics, there is going to be a personality of any team. And so what I want you to be aware of at this point is the fact that there may be six factors happening on the team and I want you to be able to understand how to recognize them.

So that as you recognize them, you can make sure that you have that person that's the checkpoint or the timeout person to help ensure that the dynamics of the team that are trying to follow a SMART plan are going to work and work well. So let's talk about the six aspects. Number one is limited ego.

No doubt there will be some members of your team who perform at a higher level than others. That's normal. However, rarely, if ever, do managers keep around a high performer who creates a toxic atmosphere and it's usually a mistake if they do.

So we need top performers on our team to help lead, to help direct and ensure that things get done in a timely manner. But top performers that are most effective when they share their secrets of success to others are people that are going to be critical for the team's success. For those messages to get through, they need to be delivered with humility.

No one ever likes being talked down. And if that begins to happen, it's going to ruin even the best advice from filtering through in the process. So when we think about this, we have to remember it this way.

A culture of team first humility is essential for the team to grow as a unit. Only when egos are left at the door can the rising tide of good communication between members lift all the boats. Now one of the things that the chairman of the board I feel has a responsibility of and that is making sure that the whole concept of humility is established at the beginning.

Each of you are here for a purpose. Each of you have expertise. Each of you have something to contribute otherwise you would not be on the team.

So I don't want one person to dominate. I want one person to work through this process and oftentimes if the chair of the team or the team leader has an agenda with a time frame set up that will help minimize this process. But let's talk about our team.

Who is going to have that limited ego? Who is it easiest for? Well, obviously the high S or the high SC behavior styles and the subjective values because they are willing to listen and interact on an as needed basis. It's going to be harder though for the high D and the high DI behavioral styles and the individualistic values because they want to control. They want to share their ideas and they want to be an active part in the process when at times they need to just shut up and be still.

Number two is the team regardless of behavioral styles and mindsets needs to be interdependent. We have to understand each person's importance to the team. When team members appreciate interdependence it becomes easier to communicate the needs and appreciate each other's strengths.

Especially when there is a challenging goal and we find that there may be a shortage of certain behaviors or certain mindsets on the board that is literally required to accomplish the objective. So interdependence on a team is going to be much easier for the high S or the high SC behavioral styles and the social mindsets. People who have a very high C and theoretical mindset are going to be able to bring a lot to the table also because they are going to keep things on track.

The people that it's really going to be harder for is the high D behavioral style and the very low theoretical and aesthetic mindsets. Why? Because if they are dominant and if they are more instinctive with that low theoretical and that very low aesthetic and not picking up on what's going on around them their tendency will be to interrupt and jump in and do things in a way that may be challenging for the rest of the team. Next there has to be shared accountability.

This is where there is a collective responsibility about the team's success or failure. Now you say you're focusing a lot on the team more so than the objective and let me share with you that if the team does not work together the objective will never happen. So when we talk about sharing accountability people who have that high S behavioral style with more objectivity and social mindsets are going to be easier to work with.

It's going to be harder for the high D C behavior styles and the theoretical to share because they think they are the repository of knowledge. And people who have that high D or high D C utilitarian and individualistic mindset are going to be focused more on their particular agenda. So as we see shared accountability is going to be something that is important.

Another thing too is the high I is going to be much more helpful in bringing collaborative efforts in that shared accountability than a low I will because a low I is not going to want to participate until they are skeptical. So look at the I personality of your team and know that it's going to be easier for the high I and harder for the low I. Next, let's focus on clear leadership because without a leader the team is going to be in trouble. But decision making power on a team needs to belong to the person who is responsible ultimately or where the buck stops for the team's success or its failure.

They have to facilitate clear communication and the professional development that is needed to achieve the objective. Now here's where our high D's and high C's come into the program. Those objective mindsets are also critical because they will schedule.

They will have an agenda. They will have boxes to tick off in the process. And when they do, objectives are much easier to obtain.

Without that schedule, without that agenda, clear leadership can fade especially if you have so many introverts who are more willing to follow than lead. Now it's going to be harder for those high S's in the group behavioral style and the subjective mindsets because they may have a lot of ideas but they may be challenged in communicating. And clear leadership will allow the leader to make sure that they involve those people because if those people are not involved, the knowledge that they bring to the table will not be used.

So even though it's going to be harder for those high S's and subjective mindsets, clear leadership will bring them into the process and extract the information but it must be intentional. Now here's something that's very dear to my heart because as we talk about team members, there has to be a recognition of uniqueness. In other words, going into a team situation where there is a very specific smart plan, each person must understand that they have a role and responsibility because of what they carry in from this right here.

People want and need to feel a part of something greater than themselves and that to be recognized that they are able to use their special talents to contribute to the goal. And sometimes that's not always performance based. It may be a support system.

Now we know that certain types of behaviors and mindsets are the glue that keeps a group stuck together. But without that, the objective won't be met. So let's look at these uniquenesses and who is it that it's going to be somewhat easier for to recognize their uniqueness.

People who have that high D and high S behavioral styles understand their uniquenesses. People with the social and theoretical mindsets are there for the good of people and the good of the cause. It's harder for people that have the high D C behavioral style and the high traditional mindsets because they're so structured and so focused in the way that they're going that they may not recognize the uniqueness of the other people in the group.

They have to understand that each person has a role and not dominate during the developmental process. Next, there has to be a rejection of exceptionalism. You cannot think of your problem as being exceptional.

It discourages teamwork because you stand out as the one person that's causing the problem and you're the one person holding the group back. This discourages teamwork and asking for advice. So identifying yourself as someone who's always got the exception is going to interrupt what that SMART goal is.

It's going to slow the process down and it's going to keep us from obtaining that SMART objective. You see people who have the high I or the high C behavioral styles always want to communicate what potentially might be challenging especially if they are highly objective I's and C's. They don't like confrontation so they are going to be offering potential excuses.

It's going to be harder though for people that have the very high I and S behavioral styles and the subjective mindsets because they have a tendency to not want to stand out in a way that they would be perceived as problematic. So when we think about the rejection of exceptionalism we have to understand that each person plays a role. Each person has a specific area that they need to focus on and they may be the one person that as we saw in our previous example has that low or I mean has that high aesthetic that can help keep the team together.

So we have to reject the exceptionalism and I've got a problem none of you have and it's going to make it a problem. Now once your team has put together their SMART plan there's some factors that can really throw a monkey wrench in this process and I want to make sure that you're aware of them and that you look for them in the process. Number one was limited ego and we have to make sure that one person doesn't dominate.

Second, there needs to be interdependence with each other so that we rely on each other's skills and abilities because that's why we're on the team. Third, there needs to be shared accountability. In other words, if one person's not doing their role they need to be held accountable for what is required to help facilitate because oftentimes on teams one thing has to be done before the next thing can be done.

So there needs to be that shared accountability and that needs to be established especially when the order of achieving the SMART plan is put in place. Next, there must be clear leadership. There must be someone there that is in the lead making sure that we have the time, resources, and are facing the potential challenges that may exist during this process.

Then that leader must individualize and recognize the uniqueness of each team member and how that is going to affect the overall reaching of the SMART plan. And last, definitely not least, is make sure that there is not someone on the team that's always got the excuse and there's always an exception to the rule. If you go in as the leader of a group like this, the statement that should always be made, and I know you've heard it many times, is don't just bring a problem.

Bring the solution along with the problem or at least a recommendation of how we can go to fix it. If you will follow, look for, recognize, and ensure that these six principles are brought together, your chance of completing that SMART goal is much more likely to happen. Do we have any questions at this point? As you're considering members to be on the board, what kind of characteristics do you look for or what would a good process be in order to identify people up front that will fit in a board that you're forming? I think one of the most important things, and this may sound a little bit complicated, but I think as you consider people, you consider their strengths and their weaknesses.

If someone is recommended to the board and you do not have that empirical data with them, I would ask them to take this free online assessment so that you can then begin to identify not just the experience that they bring to the table, but the way that they're going to present that experience and what is a priority for helping them attain and achieve that SMART objective. So I don't think any board member is going to be too put off if you ask them to take that step because you want to ensure they are going to enjoy their experience of being a part of the board and we want to make sure that we meet their needs as they serve our community. What are some ways that you can encourage the board members not only to verbalize what they bring to the group, but what they can learn from others in the group? Well, I think the most important thing is for the leader to initially establish the fact that there is purpose for each board member and the fact that no two board members are there for the exact same reason.

And once that individuality is established, there now can be a mutual respect put in place. And regardless of the team, regardless of whether it's a board, whether it's a short-term team, a long-term team, or an executive team, each person must respect the uniqueness of each team member. And in doing so, they now are much more willing to defer when there are questions in a specific area of subject matter.