When we think about what results we want to achieve after a certain period of work in a company, we imagine the positive aspects and how these results will meet expectations in general. However, defining the result to be achieved is the part that I consider the easiest; the problem lies precisely in outlining the strategies that we must define to achieve them.
Firstly, the manager leading the process needs to have prior and broad knowledge of the context in which it is inserted, especially the domain of the action that is being executed at that moment, if applicable. In addition, the manager must be well prepared to deal with any difficulties that will probably arise along the way and not lose sight of the medium/long-term objective.
Ideally, leadership should bring the team together so that they can discuss the best ways to achieve the results that were previously established, or even have the team participate in defining which results should be achieved and to what extent. And some questions that I consider essential should be asked: Do all members understand what needs to be achieved and accomplished? Do all members have the necessary skills and tools to perform their respective tasks?
Depending on these answers, the manager will know whether he or she can continue the process to achieve the results. Making sure that employees understand everything and know how their respective performances impact the details is essential, as this will allow them to become more engaged, since they will literally be working for results.
In this sense, my biggest recommendation is to adopt management by OKRs – Objectives and Key Results –, as the manager and employees will be able to have more clarity and focus to achieve the expected results, in addition to teamwork, which makes the process more motivating, as each person has their merit when it comes to making the company's wheels turn.
In addition, the tool also allows any errors to be recognized and identified more easily and quickly, since it encourages frequent adjustments to the strategy execution plan, as it has smaller and shorter cycles, usually three months. Therefore, recalculating the route and changing the path is not as painful as in other situations.
Putting these things into practice will already generate more results, and to generate even more results, it would be the case of falling short of expectations, as we set goals that are difficult to achieve, those that give us butterflies in our stomach and motivate us to give our best.
How to get results that meet expectations?
