Case Study #15: Setting Successful Team Goals

Integrate the goals of the organization and the team.

Does your team have any goals?

They are hired as project managers, engineers, consultants, etc. Their goals are to perform their roles, or aren’t they? They have tasks and projects. Of course, there are some innovations or new processes.

But team goals? Managers scratch their heads when they think about team goals. They often have something vague like:

• Deliver projects with high quality.

• Support internal/external stakeholders.

• Get X amount of new business in.

Goals are often abstract, non-specific, and not relatable. They are there for the administration, not for motivation. Lucas wanted to do it differently this time.

Lucas was the manager of a team of eight people. The team worked like a clockwork. Yet, it was not a team that you would call motivated. They minded their business and deliver what was necessary.

They did not care much about strategy. To be fair, all staff meetings and company goals went around them. They had their projects. So why bother? Lucan wanted to change it and tie his team closer to the company’s mission and goals. But how?

How do you make sure that team goals are linked to the company vision?

Strategies are often abstract. They are for others, not for casual employees. It can be a challenge to translate overarching goals into team goals.

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Your organization's mission

The first step is to understand what your organization's mission and goals are. In corporate companies, you usually have something simple but punchy:

• Apple: “Bringing the best user experience to customers through innovative hardware, software, and services.”

• Coca-Cola: “To refresh the world and make a difference.”

• Amazon: “To be Earth's most customer-centric company.”

• LinkedIn: “Connect the world's professionals to make them more productive and successful.”

But what is your company mission?

Small and mid-sized organizations often do not have that defined. They are marketing agencies, start-ups, architectural büros, IT developers, etc. They focus a lot on WHAT but not much on HOW.

A mission statement should be simple and cover the objectives of an organization. It helps customers, employees, and the leadership team understand priorities.

So what is it? What does your company do?

Lucas worked for Marketing Managers, and the mission was: “At Marketing Managers, we work strategically and adaptably to provide Marketing, Strategy, and Branding services that are powerful, trustworthy, and accessible to make marketing campaigns simple.”

His team specialized in market research and data analytics. He understood they supported others by giving them insights and customers’ ideas.

TIP: Try to write a mission statement on your own. What would it be before your team or company?

Your organization's goals