1 Define
Clear Goals and Measurable Objectives
Goals are abstract in nature and are defined in
terms of ‘the state of being’.
Objectives are the measurable steps you take to achieve the goal.
Example: ‘To
learn French’ is a goal. To clear the French ‘A’ level exam is an objective.
Identify the KPI’s for each objective. Define
targets for each KPI.
Example:
Percentile Score is a KPI for the French exam objective and the target
is 90 percentile
2. Keep
objectives relevant to work context
It is important that your goals and objectives
are aligned with your team’s / group’s / organization’s objective. Discuss your goals and objectives and discuss
with your manager.
Both of you need to agree on the goals, objectives,
KPI’s and targets that you set for yourself.
3. Create
an ‘Accomplishment Log’
This is a critical, though often overlooked,
aspect. We need to log our deliverables, achievements and contributions to the organization. It will be too cumbersome to re-collect or
browse through the mail to arrive at all accomplishments. This must be done
every Friday.
At the end of the week, you should feel good
about yourself. If you don’t, then you
know that you are expecting more from yourself!
4. Structure
your work / tasks
Take time to understand your assignment. Understand the expected deliverable and the expected
quality of deliverable. Break your assignment into ‘daily deliverables’! (Not necessarily
for your manager, but for yourself).
Knowing what you need to accomplish every day @ work will bring incredible
focus and efficiency. It will help
develop an understanding of your productivity. It will bring a self-realization
on the areas of improvement. Over the
longer term you’ll develop near accurate estimates of work execution. At the end of the day you’ll leave with a
sense of accomplishment.
5. Prioritize
More often than not, there would be multiple
tasks demanding your attention at any given time. Prioritize or be doomed!
6. Take
it to closure
Never leave loose-ends of any assigned
tasks. Always know your prioritized list
of activities. Don’t wait for management follow-up! Take ownership and ensure completion! Even if it means connecting with people,
seeking help or whatever else. Incomplete or abandoned items have the uncanny
habit of appearing at all the wrong times!
7. Results
are important, Efforts are not
Simply putting a lot of effort with no tangible
outcomes is pointless. Efforts without
results can’t be recognized. Therefore
it is important to understand the desired outcome and construct an approach
towards it.
8. Stop
blaming management / others
Take responsibility of your professional success
or failure. One can only change what’s
under one’s control. Bosses can be
difficult, work environment can depressing, colleagues may be pretentious and
there could be hundred other things. Be
aware, but give your best. Ensure that your colleagues and management are aware
of the outcomes you affected. Quoting
ShahRukh Khan from one of his interviews: “Early to bed and early to rise”, “Work
your ass off and advertize!”
9. If
nothing else works, find a new manager/employer OR employ yourself!
If you are so diligent, hard-working and capable
of executing all the above steps, this should be easy!
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