How do the words ‘continuous professional development’ make you feel? A little flat and lacklustre?! Trust, me I get it. At times, it can be a little less than inspiring but it’s imperative to professional success and happiness. Tapping into your intrinsic motivation and helping your teams to do the same, you’ll create something worth working towards. Having clear objectives and a development plan is important to motivate, to inspire and to set clear boundaries. So how can we be motivated by our objectives and make CPD interesting? This blog explains more about how to approach setting objectives.
Setting a regular review cycle
The leaders that impart consistent reviews, set objectives, offer regular support and help develop their teams often reap the rewards. More so, as do the people working with them. The ones that don’t have a regular review cycle or appraisal system set up or who don’t set clear objectives or check-in with their teams will struggle. And good people leave – who would blame them?
Make sure you have a clear review cycle and regular 1-2-1s scheduled. If you have a consistent format and clarity on what happens when throughout the year, everyone is on the same page. Don’t spring a performance review on someone out of the blue – just as you wouldn’t expect a surprise promotion request.
Having clear objectives regardless of location
Feeling valued in your place of work in crucial, especially when hybrid and remote working is commonplace. People want, and need, security, openness, insight and a say in how they work. They need clarity on what they are working towards and what they need to do to get there. Having a clear set of goals for people to work towards offers motivation, incentive and increases confidence.
Share your growth strategy with your employees
I work a lot with companies on setting their top line goals and objectives that all areas of the business need to buy in to. From those, the department-specific goals and objectives can be formulated. This ensures each area of the company is aligned and are working towards the same things. And trust me when I say, so many companies are nowhere near this. There seems to be an assumption that employees just ‘get’ the strategy and should know how they contribute.
So, is your continuous professional development as on your radar as it should be? If not, now is the time to think about it. Do you know what your teams are working towards? Have you shared what the company is working towards and how everyone plays a part in that? When you get it right, it’s entirely possible to be motivated by objectives – it shouldn’t be just a tick-box exercise.
Catch up with those catch ups
I hear from a lot of people that since the pandemic, their regular catch ups with their managers have fallen by the wayside. They may also feel they can’t approach their senior team easily and have no clear sense of direction. This is frustrating and sad as this can lead to people feeling undervalued, less confident and impact their mental health.
Uncertain times are the exact times more clarity is needed, and the onus is on leaders to do this. I admire those who call this out, who demand answers and if they don’t get them, act with their feet. But not all of us are like this. For every forthright person, there is a quieter person who’s getting ignored.
Leaders and fellow colleagues have a responsibility to not let this happen. Yes, things are tough and challenging but, as I often remind people, you are nothing without your team. Your team has to be your number one priority. They need to be nurtured, educated, given opportunity to grow, to contribute and to learn. That is what leaders are there for.
So, I want to leave you by asking are you doing enough for yourself and for your teams? And if not, why not? And I implore you to make the changes needed to step up and get what you need.
If you’d like to discuss how to help your teams be motivated by their objectives, then please get in touch.
Photo by S O C I A L . C U T on Unsplash