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Goals Communication

My manager asked all of us to put together some goals for this year, and I came up with four that I thought were perfect. They are specific and clear, and they focus on the most important parts of my job. When I discussed them with my manager, he did not like them. He said that my goals should be designed to help him meet his goals. I don't think that's the point of goals. How should I handle this?



If your goal is to create problems with your manager, one of the best ways to meet it is to ignore him. However, your manager should have spelled out his expectations before you took the time to formulate your goals.

In concept, the leader of an organization establishes his or her goals, and the employees who report to this individual design their goals with the leader's goals in mind. This same process repeats itself at every level of the organization. In this way, the organization from top to bottom is linked together by goals.

At the same time, you can also have goals that are less directly related to those of your manager. For example, in addition to your performance goals, you should also create some personal development goals. These include specific steps you will take to continue to build your strengths, skills, and value to the organization.

The best near-term goal is for you to meet with your manager, clarify his standards and expectations in this area, and then jointly agree upon some performance and developmental goals.



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