About 70 percent of people want to have goal-setting conversations often or all the time, but only 36 percent actually do. When managers aren’t skilled in setting goals that are specific, measurable, relevant, attainable, and motivating, the result is multiple priorities, unclear action steps, and poor line of sight on how work contributes to larger objectives.

“All good performance begins with clear goals.” Identify 3 to 5 key goals for each employee and make sure they are written down. Goals that are written down are 18 percent more likely to be achieved. Writing down the goal also makes it easier to review.

Only 14 percent of organizations report that their employees have a good understanding of their company’s strategy and direction. When people don’t know where their company is going, they can end up working on projects that are out of step with organizational objectives.

Make sure all employees are working on the highest-priority tasks. Ask managers to check in and review priorities with their people. Make sure the work is meaningful, on target, and contributing to overall organizational goals.

More than 73 percent of people want to have goal-review conversations often or all the time, but only 47 percent actually do. And 26 percent say they rarely or never discuss current goals and tasks.

What gets measured, gets managed.

Research conducted by Gail Matthews, professor of psychology at Dominican University in California, found that people who write down their goals, share them with someone else, and have regular daily/weekly check-ins are 30 percent more likely to achieve those goals than people who do not.

Research shows that 67 percent of people want to have performance-feedback conversations often or all the time, but only 29 percent actually do. And 36 percent say they rarely or never receive performance feedback. Without feedback, people don’t have a way to make course corrections or to know how they are doing until it’s late in the process. No one feels good when work has to be redone because of a lack of feedback along the way.

A few key attributes of good feedback are
• Focus on observable behaviors, not personality traits. Feedback should be clear and directive and should focus on concrete actions.
• Keep a positive end goal in mind. Paint a positive picture of the desired outcome that gives people a vision to work toward.
• Offer to be an accountability partner. Change is hard. Offer to provide appropriate direction and support as needed.

Nearly 54 percent of managers use the same style of leadership for all people in all situations regardless of whether a direct report is new to a role or already an expert. Half the time, this results in a manager either over-supervising or under-supervising.

The best managers tailor their management style to the needs of their employees. For example, if an employee is new to a role, a successful manager will use a highly directive style with clearly set goals and deadlines. If an employee is struggling with a role, the manager will use equal measures of direction and support. If the employee is a position- expert in their role, a manager will use a delegating style and focus instead on coming up with new challenges and future growth projects.

When we ask people the question “What is the biggest mistake leaders make when working with others?” 41 percent of respondents identified inappropriate communication or poor listening.

Here’s a three-step model designed to help managers slow down and focus on what people are sharing.
• Explore—ask open-ended questions such as, “Can you tell me more about that?” or “How do you think that will go?” or “What does that really mean?”
• Acknowledge—respond with comments such as, “You must be feeling …” or “So, if I’m hearing you correctly, what you’re saying is ….”
• Respond—now that you have a good understanding of the direct report’s point of view, you can carefully move forward with a possible response.