63. Make Your Followers “Create” Department Goals

          Break your department up into teams. Make them come up with some goals for the year, not you. Give them no resources or tools to complete them. Require them to report on them monthly and berate them if they make no progress.

Story

One of my colleagues had a boss who had no idea how to create department goals or metrics. He would have an annual goal setting meeting. He divided the department up into four teams or subgroups. They were supposed to come up with annual goals and metrics. The first year the process went as planned. He assigned the self-proclaimed goals to each team and to particular members. During the year he gave us no resources or tools to complete the goals only criticism and much belittling of the teams.

          The next year the department went through the same exercise. The goals that were brought back were so easy and innocuous that most were already done. The team had learned their lesson the hard way and reacted appropriately.

Illustration: Boss facing employees with big whiteboard to his left. Whiteboard says (printed) Easy-Pea-see goals with little bunnies drawn on whiteboard also. Title below whole drawing says. Second Year of Goal Setting