Falcone - 2600 phrases for setting effective performance goals: ready-to-use phrases that really get results

Ready-to-Use Phrases That Really Get Results

P AUL F ALCONE

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Falcone, Paul.

2600 phrases for setting effective performance goals : ready-to-use

phrases that really get results / Paul Falcone.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-8144-1775-1
ISBN-10: 0-8144-1775-2

1. Goal setting in personnel managementHandbooks, manuals, etc.

2. Performance standardsHandbooks, manuals, etc. 3. Employee motivationHandbooks, manuals, etc. I. Title. II. Title: 2600 phrases for setting effective performance goals. III. Title: Two thousand six hundred phrases for setting effective performance goals.

HF5549.5.G6F35 2011
658.312dc23

2011021760

2012 Paul Falcone.
All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.

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Printing number

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

To my father, Carmine
For teaching me to be a man for others
and for showing me the value of
hard work, commitment, and selflessness

Setting goals for your employeesor, more accurately, helping them set appropriate goals for themselvesis a very individualized and personal endeavor. Adding the right elements to the recipe, so to speak, therefore varies significantly depending on the individuals needs and aspirations. Still, your key focus always lies in customizing a blueprint or template for success to help your staff members find new ways of increasing their own productivity, which of course improves your departmental and ultimately company performance.

Creating Development Plans for Employees

So how exactly should you go about creating individual development plans for your subordinates, and, more importantly, how can this book help you get there? First and foremost, always ask your employees for their input. Without your subordinates involvement, drafting development plans in goal statements becomes hit or miss. Second, realize that employees will remain loyal to their companiesregardless of headhunters calls luring them away to greener pasturesas long as theyre on a positive career growth trajectory and they feel appreciated for what they contribute. This so-called psychic income serves as the glue that binds workers to their organizations, and its clearly the most significant element of any development plan.

If you convince subordinates that achieving specific goals at work equates to adding vivid bullets to their resumes, then youll develop an accomplishment mentality that enables your employees not only to motivate themselves but also to reinvent themselves in light of your organizations changing needs. Thats where an average manager or supervisor steps up to become an outstanding leader. Great leaders know how to set up their subordinates for success. Then they simply step aside and get out of the way.

When you describe the best bosses and mentors that youve had in your career, youre more than likely to use the verb to be rather than to do. In fact, in all human relations, beingness typically trumps doingness because the greatest influencers on our lives were loving, supportive, caring, patient, and selfless in guiding us. And those traits all came much more from who they were than what they did. In other words, providing others direction and offering guidance is actually a lot easier than you think. Its simply a matter of being a selfless leader whos committed to balancing the companys needs with those of the individual worker.

If youre able to make this one paradigm shift in your belief systemthat great leaders focus on being rather than on doingyoull cut a lot of stress out of your life and develop teams that will remain very loyal to you. Loyalty begets respect, respect begets devotion, and we all know that devoted employees will give you 110% of their efforts. In short, if you command employees from the top down, youll get no more than 100% of their efforts out of their sense of compliance. But if you can touch their hearts and help them to love you as their boss and mentor, youll build amazingly strong teams with lots of camaraderie and teamwork and, in so doing, catapult your own career to new heights.

With these simple premises in mind, understand that youre not responsible for motivating your team. Motivation is internal, and I cant motivate you any more than you can motivate me. However, as a leader within your organization, you are indeed responsible for creating an environment in which people can motivate themselves. And that fine distinction is where this book can come in rather handy.

More Than Just a List of Descriptive Phrases

This book offers a lot more than just descriptive goal phrases outlining competencies and responsibilities. It provides wisdom and guidance on how to manage your career, lead your team more effectively, and inspire those around you to reach higher levels of individual performance and achievement. 2600 Phrases for Setting Effective Performance Goals will provide you with insightful strategies to accomplish more yourself as well as through others, to serve as an effective career mentor and coach, and to help your company stand out from its competition. For example, when it comes to motivating and leading your team, look to phrases like these to minimize misunderstanding and open the lines of communication:

Encourage individuality and foster an environment of respect and inclusion.

Recognize that perception is reality until proven otherwise; therefore, always hold yourself accountable for your own perception management.

Welcome and encourage others feedback so that they are comfortable sharing minor concerns with you before they become major impediments.