Too often it feels like goals are “fed” to people. When they describe their goals they feel like an external force that drives them instead of a fire that fuels them from within. The difference between the two can be seen in the eyes of the people who discuss their goals.
There is an expression I love “She smiled but her smile didn’t reach her eyes”… What we’re looking for when leading people are “goals that reach the eyes”.
When we talk about alignment we often refer to the “technical” aspect of alignment in the sense that each person “knows” what they are supposed to focus on. But deep alignment goes beyond the frontal lobe and “knowing”. Deep alignment is alignment on the level of the greatest purpose we serve together and how our personal and team goals make us stronger together.
This is why when we discuss goals with the people we lead we should pay attention to their eyes not just their words. The words tell us that the person “get it”. The eyes tell us that they’re “moved” by the goal. And when it comes to velocity and momentum it is e-motions that will drive the team the extra mile.
Simply ask people to describe their goal… “So Rechel, what would be a great Q2 for you?” and then focus on their eyes…
If the person describes their goals in detachment and the words sound as if they are not their own we know that we are forcing your goals on that person.
When a goal becomes an external force that drives us, something we need to “report” on then we become order takers. It is when we’re deeply connected and driven by a goal that we go above and beyond to achieve it.
Focus on purpose and look for the eyes
