4 Mistakes With Team Goals, and Tips to Avoid Them

Each of us should set and achieve personally goals, but most of us work or live with a larger team. I have teams at work, volunteer teams at church and community organizations, and of course my family at home. Each of these groups have collective goals that we are reaching for together.

Teams are usually formed around a common goal, such as winning a basketball championship. The struggle for each individual is to keep the group goals while pursuing personal goals as well. Often, personal goals take away or hinder the team goals. I see this when a player has the ability for personal recognition, like scoring titles or to be an all-star but that takes away from the cohesiveness of the team. This is disastrous for the team and can sabotage success easily. Jesus said it this way, “Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall.” (Luke 11:17) All them members of your team must be working with each other and not against one another. The job of ensuring alignment among members falls on the leader, which can be defined as a manager, coach, or several other titles. As a leader, examine your team against the list below to see if there are improvements you can make. You can also use these mistakes and tips as a team member to make sure you are personally doing what it takes to align with your team goals.

Here are the 4 common mistakes that can happen in teams of any size and purpose. Avoid these mistakes to create a culture of success with your team. I have added a tip with each mistake to help you overcome or avoid this problem with your team.

• Mistake: Team goals are not communicated properly
  • Sometimes goals can be set with all team members, but some teams need to have goals set by leadership and passed down. Individuals lose commitment if goals are not properly set and communicated and there is not strong enough leadership to focus on the goals.
  • How to avoid: Communicate your team goals and the rationale for the goals. Do this often on a team and personal level.
• Mistake: Personal goals don’t align with the team
  • Teams will fail if individuals don’t contribute to the goals. Worthy goals can be detrimental to the team if they take priority away or pull the team in another direction from their collective goals.
  • How to avoid: Work with your team to ensure personal goals align with the team. This may take effort and require priorities to change or goals to be differed for later. Putting off a goal is not always a bad thing if the timing needs to be better.
• Mistake: Personal goals are not communicated and shared with the team
  • Accountability and assistance can come with sharing goals with others. Various teams within an organization should share goals to ensure they are in alignment but you should also share personal goals within each team. It will build trust in the team and individuals can help others reach their personal goals.
  • How to avoid: Spend time focusing on each member of your team. Transparency will help align and build trust but don’t be forceful, everyone doesn’t have to share all his or her goals publicly. As a leader, you should sit down with each member in your team to discuss goals.
• Mistake: Milestones and updates are not shared with the team
  • As goals progress, change and are achieved the news should be shared with the teams. Even if certain individuals are not working on a particular goal then can still be excited and give momentum to the goals. This will drive completion of the goals and help build trust within the team.
  • How to avoid: Have regularly scheduled updates to discuss personal and team goals. Share updates, hurdles and accomplishments.

You can accomplish goals and help your team as a leader or a follower. Use the tips above to help make your team successful. Click here for your Free PDF with tips on successful team goals. Contact me with a comment below or email phil@philklutts.com for help with your team goals, personal goals, and aligning for success.