Setting Goals for the Upcoming Year

As the school year gets underway, it is important to take time to set professional goals and expectations for the year. Flexibility is important, but it is helpful to have an organized plan on what you would like to accomplish for the year. Establishing clear and concise goals will keep you on the right path to work effectively with your team. We’ve put together some points to help you when preparing goals for the year. 

Encourage Team Sharing 

Providing the opportunity for team members to share their priorities, needs, and goals can help you to establish valuable goals. Creating discussions around what your team values not only allows you to put together relevant goals but allows you to equip your team with the tools they need to succeed. Mediate the conversation by making sure that their feedback and goals align with your schools’ mission to ensure that the goals are reasonable and attainable. Once realistic goals are established for both individuals and the team as a whole, generate actionable plans together. Be prepared to lead these conversations as a leader within your workplace. The process for defining goals can generate collaboration and communication in and of itself so be sure to utilize team discussion well.

Accountability

Maintaining accountability is a key component of successful leadership. Once goals are established, it’s important to track progress. Having a strong understanding of where team members are with their goals is important for several reasons. First off, you can help to keep your team focused on their progress and course-correct if necessary. Checking in on the team also helps you to know if you need to reevaluate goals. This is a great example of why flexibility is important in setting goals for the year. As a leader in your workplace, helping your team achieve their goals is a part of your responsibility. Some of the ways to maintain accountability for success include:

• Having regular one-on-one meetings to see how things are going 
• Making sure you are providing a transparent environment where people know they can communicate their needs
• Helping them to understand how to establish achievable and measurable goals 
• Celebrate milestones that your team reaches 
• Offer regular feedback so they know where they are and if anything needs to be improved upon

Make Goals Quantifiable 

Creating quantifiable goals is crucial because they are measurable. This provides the opportunity to determine success and track progress. It also allows for predictability in terms of knowing the length of time it takes to achieve specific goals. Perhaps some goals are being reached sooner than expected and others longer. By tracking these initiatives, you can pivot your plans as needed. It can also help to identify any speed bumps early on. Once these items are identified, feedback for an action plan can be put in place. Additionally, by tracking goals, team members can stay motivated by the progress they’re making and how close they are to completing it. Achieving goals provides a strong sense of accomplishment and helps to serve as a strong motivator for your team. 

Create an Action Plan

While it’s important to set individual goals, it’s equally important for you to define tools for success that will benefit the team. Set goals that will benefit the school. Perhaps that looks like providing new equipment or looking into adding team members to help with specialized areas, such as bilingual professionals. In the case of recognizing the benefits of hiring bilingual school-based professionals, you can rest assured knowing that Bilingual Therapies can check that goal off your list for you. Our dedicated team prioritizes your needs and goals so that we can provide you with the perfect team member to contribute towards your teams’ priorities.