Fall — it’s the season of changing leaves, pumpkin spice everything, and…goal setting. Employee goal setting offers big benefits for you as a leader and for your employees and the work of the collective team.

How can leaders guide employees through setting goals?

With the use of self-assessments, exploring professional interests and skills, and understanding the most valuable next steps for career development, you can set your team up for success and amplify their employee experience.

Development matters to young professionals

Research shows that once Gen-Zers and Millennials pass the $75,000 annual income threshold, growth and development opportunities become a major priority.

However, the kind of professional development sought by employees can vary widely based on their unique interests and skillsets, current job responsibilities, and vision for the future. While one employee may have their sights set on filling an executive position one day, another may be most interested in becoming an integral part of improving processes, products, or services.

Helping employees understand their own strengths and career interests is an ideal opportunity for leaders to check in on each team member’s plan for growth, and how you can best support them along the way.

Helping employees understand their strengths

Part of employee development is guiding your workforce to explore their professional gifts. Employees at every level, not just those aspiring to be leaders, can benefit from completing their own strengths assessment. As mentioned in my blog about goal setting for leaders, I’m a fan of Gallup’s CliftonStrengths assessment.

When we identify our top skills, we can be more intentional about further developing them and other complimentary skills. Take, for example, someone you may have heard of before —Taylor Swift. If Taylor had decided as a kid that she wanted to be an athlete, a musician, and an actress, the time and focus required to become average at all three would have meant she had to limit her focus on exceling at the one with the most promise. Thankfully, Swifties of the world can breathe a sigh of relief knowing she focused on the one that would catapult her to superstar status.

Employees with a clear understanding of their natural talents are better able to tailor a development approach for enhancing the knowledge and skills they need. In other words, they can follow Taylor’s lead by investing energy into shaping excellence rather than making slight adjustments to reach mediocrity.

Helping employees explore development paths

Some young professionals may not have fully considered yet what they’re working toward in their career; so, helping them find their strengths also helps them to identify realistic opportunities for growth.

Here are a few questions that can help your team members create a vision to work toward:

  • How would you like to grow in your current position and/or professionally?
  • What types of roles or opportunities within the company interest you?
  • You will need X and Y skills – which of those come naturally to you and which ones do you feel could use some work?
  • How can I best support your growth and development?

Strengths assessments also point to employees’ natural patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. When they sense they are on the right track for their potential, they’ll also feel more energized, confident, and motivated.

All of this will lead employees to have a clearer idea of the work they enjoy, making you better equipped to help them uncover current opportunities for beneficial career development. As you head into the goal-setting process, remember that simply trying the next right thing can enhance development more than looking 5- to 10-years down the road.

Helping employees set realistic goals

Sometimes employees think the only way to grow within an organization is through a promotion or salary increase; however, part of exploring individual skills and interests is setting detailed goals for their personal progress.

A few questions that may prompt ideas for employees to set realistic goals:

  • Are there any new projects or responsibilities they can take on that would help grow a skill?
  • How can they work more efficiently or help other teammates?
  • How would they like to grow beyond this year’s accomplishments?
  • How are they contributing to your organization’s strategic plan objectives?
  • What goals can they set for the next year that align with the strategic plan?

Employees tend to remain with organizations that interest them, so presenting new challenges in their current position may be just what they need to become more invested over the next year.

Finally, have them set SMART goals. Learning to set realistic and measurable goals is a life-long lesson that will pay off many times over. Share your own self-assessment reflections and the goals you’ve set for yourself as an example of how continual improvement is important no matter what step of the ladder you’ve reached.

Set your employees up for goal-driven success

Great leaders help employees be their best every day, which includes guidance for preparing to be their best in the future. Take the time to talk to your teams about the immense value of exploring individual skills, talents, interests, and goals. I promise that your employees, team, and organization will benefit from it!

Need help guiding your leaders or employees through goal setting? That’s part of what we do! Check out our new website, and contact us to chat!