Starting the Year Off Right
Happy New Year! Can we still say happy new year when it’s the last day of January? 😊
How is your year kicking off? On the personal side of things - Are you still keeping up with those New Year’s resolutions? Are you staying aligned to your “theme of the year”?
On the professional side of things - For the organization that you’re leading, have you established your team’s goals for the year and set out a plan for meeting those goals? If not, keep reading for some guidance on how to start the year off right. It’s not too late!
Setting the Stage:
Whether you’re a leader of a nonprofit or for-profit organization, ideally your organization (or company) has a current strategic plan with a clear vision, mission, and values established. Based on this foundation, you’ve likely established clear high-level 3-5 year goals that will help you achieve your organization’s (or company’s) mission.
If you have your organization’s vision, mission, and high-level 3- or 5-year goals established, you’ve got a solid foundation. But to put your strategy into action at this time of the year, you should establish your organization’s goals for the current year along with established metrics that you will track against to measure your progress and define success.
Having this foundation in place gives the leaders and team members within the organization a solid starting point in determining their contribution to moving the organization forward in 2023.
Cascading:
Cascading goals are goals that are translated from one level of the organization to the next. This leads to efficiency and effectiveness across the board.
Based on the hierarchy of your organization, the top-level organization’s goals should be “cascaded” through the organization. For example, organizational (company) goals will cascade down to the departments. Departmental goals will cascade to the individuals within the department. (This is just an example of a simple organizational structure and how cascading would work.)
Each leader and team member should create their own goals that align to the greater organization along with their metrics they will track against. There should also be discussion of what strategic initiatives (programs, projects, and activities) will be completed this year to help achieve these goals.
As early in the calendar year as possible, leaders and team members should be aligned on the path forward for departments and individuals within the organization.
Benefits of cascading include:
Goal alignment - Everyone from top to bottom of the organization is completely aligned
Focus – High-level goals can be used as a filter or guide for prioritization of work
Clarity of purpose – With aligned goals and objectives, individual employees can understand how their work directly impacts the organization
“Unless organizations take specific steps to cascade goals throughout the organization and align these with employee goals, the best laid plans will come to nothing. To drive true purpose and effectiveness in the everyday lives of employees, the company strategy needs to be filtered down to each level of staff." - Billy Elliott, Country Manager of the Top Employers Institute in Africa
Let’s Get Moving!
Once everyone is aligned on their department and individual goals for the year with an understanding of what “success” looks like, it’s time to move forward.
Project planning can begin!
In my next article, I will give you some important questions to answer to set expectations and align with your project leader.
If this article was helpful and you’d like further assistance from me, here are a few ways I can help:
If you’d like me to facilitate the strategic planning process for your organization or provide guidance on strategy execution, contact me so that we can schedule a discovery call. I’d love to learn about your organization and your needs.
The smartest people I know make things happen by planning further ahead than most people. There’s always a tug-of-war between strategic and tactical work. How do you get both done? The answer may be in my VIP Days. This private, one-on-one VIP Day is ideal if you or a project leader on your team could use a targeted coaching and consulting session to get an important project off the ground or unstuck. Reach out to me to learn if a VIP Day is a good fit for you or a leader in your organization.
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