Without objectives none of us would be here. Purposeful action - a hallmark of our species - has enabled humankind to turn sand into civilisation (and back again) many times in our history. Without the setting and pursuit of specific goals, the pyramids would never have existed, Rome would never have been built (even in a day), and the Moon would bear no trace of the 'small steps' taken in July 1969.

In spite of these achievements, a frequent complaint is that leaders lack purpose or direction. The staff think: "We're fired up and ready to go, just tell us what to aim for!" They feel let down that the
leader is unwilling or unable to unveil the grand plan. Perhaps there are just so many competing tasks facing leaders that they don't get the time and space to properly think about what they want to achieve. Perhaps leaders don't know where to turn to get help in formulating goals and plans for the future. Either way - there's no excuse. The job of the leader is to set goals and to help people succeed in reaching those goals. If you aren't doing that as a leader, then what
are you doing?

Your leadership objectives do not have to be outrageously wild or creative to be effective. In some cases, wild and creative may be essential, and in some cases, may be totally inappropriate. The
essence of good goal setting is good judgement. This judgement needs to be based on a sound analysis of where are we now compared to where we need to be in the future. The size of the gap, and the urgency of the change then influence the scale of the objectives that you set as
a leader.

Goal setting

The starting point for leaders is in setting objectives for themselves and other individuals. Most often, we are encouraged to set 'SMART' objectives - standing for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Timely (or variations on those themes). It's also important to avoid setting STUPID objectives - standing for:

Sapping - it's remarkably easy to set objectives that disempower the people that you want to motivate with a goal. Objectives that are too hard or too easy are both excellent turn-offs. If you need some examples just read a week of Dilbert!

Thoughtless - achieving a goal as planned can sometimes lead to unexpected consequences; take time to consider the implications and outcomes for all stakeholders.

Urgent - if it's urgent then get on with it, don't confuse individual tasks with longer term strategic goals, don't let simple tasks become inflated and delayed by the process of objective setting.

Procrastinatable - a good objective should galvanise people into action, and make clear what needs to be done from day one.

Impossible - it's a thin line between challenging and impossible. Don't cross the border!

Divisive - setting different goals for different team members is fine so long as the goals all contribute to a common purpose or fundamental principle. But take care; objectives that do not require collaboration will lead to competition - so ask yourself: 'How do I want people to work together?'

Simply dictating an objective to people (or yourself) is seldom enough. The leader's task is also to contextualise the objective. Help people see that the objective is worthwhile and essential to their long-term success. Good leaders spend plenty of time on the groundwork - listening to the views and concerns of team members to appreciate how people feel about the issues at hand. They will then set goals and objectives in a fashion that fits the implicit and explicit needs and characteristics of the people involved. Often, this process may result in the leader unveiling a series of
complementary objectives that build upon each other over time.

Setting out the ultimate aim too soon may frighten or turn off stakeholders, and a set of smaller objectives that still mesh with the long-term strategy may be more appropriate. In this case, the leader needs to retain a strong personal vision of the ultimate objective, and set out sub-goals that are sequential and cumulative evolutions toward the longer-term ambition.

Further guidance on the principles and practices of establishing and achieving individual objectives can be found in the instant document on goal setting.

Business Plans

When setting goals for the whole organisation, leaders commonly produce business plans to formalise their vision for the enterprise. Business plans are valuable in crystallising the thoughts and making explicit the hopes and dreams of the leader. Although on a larger scale than individual goals and objectives, business plans still need to reflect the mood and feeling of the people involved: staff, customers, and other stakeholders. A business plan formulated in isolation from these influences will be lifeless and static; and faces the prospect of a quiet and dusty life on the bookshelf.

The best leaders treat the business plan not as an endpoint or a 'book of commandments' - but as focal point for two-way communication about the future. The business plan (with the exception of truly confidential financial or proprietary data) then becomes a tool for sharing and exploring ideas, options, hopes and fears for the future. The more people are involved at an early stage, the more likely it is that foreseeable risks will be identified, and the more likely it is that people will commit to the necessary action when the time comes.

There are many sites around the Internet that can help leaders and entrepreneurs to produce good business plans (our own business planning resources are available here). But, however your business plan looks, and whatever it says, the words on paper are still less important than the people behind the plan. Stakeholders will back good ideas only so far, they also want to see leaders who are informed, committed, and versatile. As WW1 General Von Moltke commented: "No plan survives contact with the enemy". If (when!) events turn out different from the business plan prediction, it falls on leaders (not plans) to show versatility and endurance in finding a route to success.

In times of change, effective leaders strive to act in harmony with the spirit of the business plan. In turn, the business plans must be updated to reflect the realities of the world - it's all too common to find the world re-interpreted to fit the static and out-dated 'reality' of the business plan.

A major risk in goal-setting or business planning for any leader is that of blurring the boundaries between personal and organisational goals. This risk is most apparent in Owner-Managed Businesses where there is a strong fusing of identities between the leader and the
corporation. Although there's no doubt that a strong commitment arises in this situation, the downside is that any negative feedback about the business or business plan is treated as a personal attack (and the messenger gets shot at point blank range). The other significant risk is that employees become turned off as they see that the ultimate aim of the business is to benefit only one person - the owner.

The best way around this issue is for the owner to work closely with other senior executives (and an external mentor) to ensure that the business is independently sustainable. The goals of the business and feedback about the business should be clearly separable from the aims and personality of the owner.

Stakeholders

The best way to improve the impact of goals and objectives for your organisation is to secure buy-in from the people most involved. This may seem obvious, but many leaders are tempted to pull the rabbit from the hat - believing that their leadership credibility rests on being 'solo artists' in the great ideas league table. These days, consultation is widely accepted, and widely expected of leaders. Without their views being respected, your stakeholders (employees, customers and shareholders) will register their reactions to your plan by ignoring or undermining your seemingly ill-advised objectives.

The paradox becomes most obvious when leading knowledge workers. Highly skilled professionals will have strong opinions about the 'best' direction for the organisation, and also (having read the textbooks) have high expectations of their leaders. Often the individual opinions will be at odds with the 'corporate line' and at odds with each other. The challenge for any leader is to harness this diverse brain-power for the benefit of the whole organisation, and also show clear, consistent and decisive leadership.

Once again, reflecting on leadership direction with trusted advisors can help a leader to consider the most effective route for the organisation, and determine the most appropriate means of communication and consultation with influential stakeholders.

Sustainability

Whilst plans need to have some degree of flexibility, they should also promote and facilitate sustainability. In other words, the plan should ensure that the individual or organisation learns from the process of achieving the objective in order to become even more skilful in the future. A plan that incorporates no learning will result in an eerie sense of 'déjà vu' for the leader. They will wonder, year after year, why it is that nothing seems to change, and why the staff are still so dependent on the leader. The simple answer is that leaders are themselves to blame for the lack of progress. The goal of a good leader is to help individuals and organisations to become more skilled and effective - in time to take on many of the
leader's tasks. This frees the leader to move up to tackle higher challenges - and that's not something that every leader is comfortable to do. So, take time to review your own strengths and abilities as a leader. All the time that you are doing what someone else could do, then no one is doing what only you can do. Perhaps the best thing that you can do for your organisation is to embed your skills in the people around you, then address the challenges that a truly top leader would tackle for your organisation.