The importance of pushing the envelope

A mid-sized pharmaceutical company has their year-end appraisals going on. As I am the coach for the CEO, watching the process is mandatory for me. I sat throughout the performance-based review discussions. To my surprise, most people had pretty comfortable goals to achieve in the past year and of course, they had done fairly well. Everyone was happy in terms of getting what they want. Later, in the coaching session, I asked CEO if it was possible to set higher goals for the team. He sheepishly replied that most people do not strive to achieve higher goals and that leads to mass demotivation. Not to mention, that organisation does look like an “underachiever.” “ What to do?” He asked me promptly.

Managers who set lower and achievable team goals are most likely to be popular and performers is a myth. Most people at workplaces like to be challenged with higher goals. After a certain age, money becomes a byproduct of working. Everyone knows that they will get paid a salary at whichever organisation they join. The resume and personal profile of an individual have to look like that of a fighter and winner to get better opportunities in future.

How to differentiate goals which are higher and attainable from the ones that are a pop-up every time you look at the list? There are two kinds of goal-setting to be done. 

Status quo goals mean that your target has not moved up an inch and so you continue to put it back on the list again. Remember that weight loss-cum-diet plan and hit the gym at 6 am goal of the last ten years? That falls because there is no proper commitment to it.

Enhancement goals mean setting your target much higher than what was earlier and then strive to achieve it. 

Why do we need a status quo goal at all? No one wants a complete change in what was their baseline achievements of last year. That is where they begin to set the goal for the next year - the most attainable. Been there and done that is the first thing to feature on the list. It is good to keep that sense of achievement. It helps in reaching higher as you are already an achiever. So push a bit more and reach higher.

Also, watch out for biased opinions while setting higher goals. If your enhancement goal has a big leap from where you were last year, your own mind plays a trick of negativity. The fear of failure ticks in and basic human instinct is to fall down when the ground is shaky. Just remain committed to your goal and make sure to drive yourself a bit more every day.

Enhancement goals need to be realistic, yet challenging. An extra set of crunch in the gym or spending 10 minutes a day reading a new book’s summary may seem very small but it does need tremendous commitment when it is a daily chore. Your mind will ask you to quit and that is where the real ambition starts. Focus on that winning smile in the mirror and go ahead.

As a manager or a team leader, pushing people is even more crucial to dream big and get more in life. A team leader is looked up to always. If you help them get only better in life but write better milestones on resumes, that is what true leadership is about.

When people accomplish a higher target, complete more tasks, save resources better or work extra hours without direct monetary rewards, they are looking at self-entitlement of higher goals. Humans as a race have been survivors and fighters. If there is nothing to fight for, then the reasons to celebrate one’s victory do not come. In the corporate world, it leaves people without achievement or motivation. One of the reasons performers give exit interviews instead of appraisal reviews is that they lack being an achiever and motivation attached to it. 

It is important now to set yourself free to soar and let your enhancement goals give you the adrenaline rush. Get branded as a tough and high-performer leader. 

The writer is strategic advisor and premium educator with Harvard Business Publishing