When we think about the results we aim to achieve after a certain period of work in a company, we imagine the positive points and how these results will meet expectations overall. However, defining the desired outcome is the part I consider easiest; the real challenge lies in outlining the strategies we must establish to achieve them.
Firstly, the manager leading the process must have prior and comprehensive knowledge of the context in which they are involved, especially, the mastery of the action being executed at that moment, if applicable. Furthermore, the manager must be well prepared to handle the potential difficulties that will likely arise along the way and not lose sight of the medium/long-term goal.
The ideal is for leadership to bring the team closer so that together they can discuss the best ways to achieve the results that were previously established, or even involve the team in defining which results should be achieved and to what extent. And some questions that I consider essential must be asked: did all the members understand what needs to be achieved and accomplished? Do all team members have the necessary skills and tools to perform their respective tasks?
Depending on these answers, the manager will know if they can proceed with the process to achieve the results. Ensuring that employees understand everything and know how their respective performances impact the overall details is essential, as this way they can become increasingly engaged, since they will be working literally 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.
Furthermore, the tool also allows potential errors to be recognized and identified more easily and quickly, as it encourages frequent adjustments to the strategy execution plan, since it has shorter and more frequent cycles, usually three months. Thus, 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?
