Goal Orientations and Stress

Even more difficult to see are our relationships to our goals. These orientations to the outcomes that are important to the roles and functions that we serve can often be at cross purposes, or at the least add some conflict to our achieving what we see as the most perfect end. A look at the goal orientations across a team throughout an enterprise makes it obvious that these differences also can cause stress in our working relationships.

• On the warehouse floor, the shipping crew works to ship a product on time that will arrive packaged well and easy to carry and unpack.
• In customer service, the person on the phone has a goal to make a lifelong customer relationship..
• In accounts receivable, they hope that the price is a value that the customer understands and agrees with.
• The marketing folks want to be sure that the product meets current customer needs and desires with solid features and benefits.
• In the field, a sales rep wants a product that customers will immediately recognize and understand as useful to them. One that he or she won’t have to sell, but instead simply “show and tell.”
• In R&D, employees want to make state of the art.quality. They work for the highest design features supported by user-friendly, user-proof documentation
• The directors want their departments to meet the strategiy and budgets for the three year plan.
• The investors want all departments coming in as predicted on the yearly financials.
• The CEO wants all of the above and more.

All goals are important to the operation. Yet no outcome can stand alone and call itself perfection. An R&D masterpeice that doesn’t sell is not a masterpeice at all. The silo-ing of departmental goals divides the power of the enterprise. It causes friction as each part attempts perfection without the support of the other departments.

Stress is inevitable when an organization does not focus on a common outcome. The common outcome is delighting the customer with something that makes customers’ lives easier or more enjoyable.

When a leadership team understands that they must set goals across the organization. The level of stress becomes a shared burden. By nature of being supported from above and divided among many, the stress to each worker is much lower and often looks more like motivating energy.

Behind every Successful business is an Outstanding Manager. –Perfect Virtual Manager

Liz Strauss