I have some very ambitious goals.

17 Comments

1. AnonymousDecember 17,2021 at 4:17AM UTC

   A good leader can sense the team's momentum and understands that success is all in the pacing. So you you balance the need for performance with the need to finish on a high note.

   I have always been keen on setting up rewards on the path of success. March 31st is your goal, so map our your strategy with milestones. Reach milestone 1 and the team gets to leave at noon on Thursday, book so much business by noon at COB the day before new year eve and you've got and extra day to enjoy the holiday. No working OT over the weekend. It's extra time off but also the incentive to give it 110% is there and as a team you get that concerted extra effort. It's pacing your team to focus but pulling them together at the same time. Avoiding burnout with balance. .....

   You keep them well fed bringing breakfasts and lunches in, keeping meetings to a minimum and communicating rewards to keep things on point. I used gift cards as spot bonuses to keep the "high" energy. I tracked things "old school" on a leader board. I kept the tone positive and paid attention to energy. I used my intuitive skills to note if things were getting to pressured and assigned floaters to help as things lagged in certain areas.

   You count down the clock until your March Year End. Reminding everyone daily how much of the race is left ahead.

   As a leader, you stay fluid and you manage the energy of the team. If balanced correctly, you can coach your team to finish on a high note.

2. AnonymousDecember 17,2021 at 12:07PM UTC

   Without your supporting your staff as a "human", you will push them to the brink and lose the magic of performance. You are a very long way from your fiscal year end and this is a test of your management skills more than your staff's ability. Not acknowledging their efforts thus far won't get you very far with over 3 months left. Ambitious goals don't happen by the will of a manager. You have to give to get.

3. Angela Juang, CPC, ELI-MPDecember 17,2021 at 7:57PM UTC

   Kudos to you for wanting to lead with efficacy AND empathy! Aside from it probably feeling "right" to you, research also shows that people work harder and more effectively and innovatively when their leaders are empathetic - extra reason not to shy away from what it sounds like you naturally value. It sounds like you want your people (and probably yourself!) both to get rest and also get their bonuses. There's 1.5 months left until the end of the FY, so perhaps there's time to strategize with them. You know best as their leader, but my gut says, letting them know you acknowledge their efforts so far and that they're exhausted, and that you care about them getting both rest and a well-deserved bonus, can lead to a collaborative conversation about how to make this work. Looping them in on the strategy to close out strong can help create powerful buy-in to get across the finish line. Good luck!

4. AnonymousDecember 18,2021 at 1:23PM UTC

   Consider running a workshop to see how the team can work smarter (and meet those goals creatively) rather than harder (working longer hours and thus having less time off). Let them know what is at stake. Discuss “discontinuous” ideas that may seem out of the ordinary. You’re people are smart and they’ve got ideas. :)

5. AnonymousDecember 18,2021 at 1:23PM UTC

   *your

   Good luck.

6. Eloisa JacintoDecember 18,2021 at 1:44PM UTC

   Thank you for thinking about your team’s wellbeing. I would suggest you breakdown your goals into chunks and work with the team to come up with ways to achieve each milestone without working longer hours and sacrificing their timeoffs. The team will be able to work better and without hidden grudges if they are involved and empowered to decide how to successfully make goals happen. They will also not feel cheated out of their deserved break. Good luck!

7. AnonymousDecember 18,2021 at 2:04PM UTC

   For years, I was on the other side of this. I was a part of a team other teams relied on to meet their goals. By Nov of every year, directors from multiple departments were coming to my team to get all their goals accomplished by the following March. We all had to work Christmas and New Years every year. Forget time off for the holidays. Because we were remote, I was still able to spend time with my family, but I had to work the entire time. My family gave me grief about it every year.

   Between the crazy amount of work plus the family stress, I began to dread the holidays. The money was good, but I felt like Scrooge. I have since left this job and even though I'm making less money, I am 1000% happier. Out of a team of 5, 4 of us have left. Not all because of this specifically, but generally because we felt our director didn't hear or care about our concerns.

   As a manager, I would ask you to talk with your team about the bonus and the work involved. I'd also ask you to consider looking at the whole year and putting in more quarterly or monthly checkpoints for your year end goals so there isn't a year end scramble.

8. GirlBossanova934974December 18,2021 at 2:40PM UTC

   The best thing to do here is to be straight and honest with people and tell them exactly what is going on. We have to get to X by 31 March and we are not close at this point and time. Please keep that in mind. Then realize that there are going to be a handful of people who are going to get you to the goal AND then reward those individuals accordingly. For years, I was one of the people who got my organization to the year end goals. Even when management had mailed it in during the holidays AND given up on our meeting our December 31 goal, I made the numbers to push the organization over the finish line. Not only was I not rewarded. I was not even acknowledged by the management. It all went downhill from there. The company has since reduced its workforce by 40% as sales have plunged. But the same old lousy managers are still around. Leadership counts for a lot. It is a rare commodity these days.........

9. KathyDecember 18,2021 at 4:42PM UTC

   This is good advice. People want to know what is going on with the business. They don't want management to lie to them or use the 'boy who cried wolf' management method where everything is a crisis and everything is behind schedule. The staff will not take another 'wolf' cry seriously unless they know in their heart of hearts that management tells the truth and rewards the people that work hard and go the extra mile to meet goals.

10. AnonymousDecember 18,2021 at 4:28PM UTC

    My leadership supports and fights for its work. We are extremely well cared for and will pull the occasional all nightet or work a weekend because we know that during holidays we will be given extra time and bonuses and incentives. We all bust our asses for the company on very ambitious.goals because we know the company has our backs.

    I just got my holiday bonus and I get Thursday and Friday off and feel very appreciated even though we did not make 100% goal for year end.

11. AnonymousDecember 18,2021 at 6:15PM UTC

    I am responding while working from home on the last Saturday before Christmas. I haven't showered since Thursday when I pulled an all-nighter. I want to be clear that I am not seeking sympathy, I want to represent my truth, which I imagine is the truth of many employees right now. My tree is half decorated. I am exhausted. I have spent the past two years going above and beyond professionally during this pandemic and it is killing me. I have been destroyed financially. My lease was not renewed and I had to move during a housing shortage that decimated my savings and my rent has increased 30%. My goal of becoming a homeowner has morphed into desperately and frantically remaining housed. The raise I was scheduled for in the fall hasn't happened yet. I took on additional workload and took professional development courses, completed enormous projects to meet my goals and persevered in the face of enormous challenges. I have pivoted so much my head is spinning. My current supervisor was promoted after throwing my previous supervisor under the bus during a pandemic, and nothing is ever enough to please her. Nothing. I relocated for this job before the pandemic because it is in a area that was affordable at the time and it is a high profile company. And now I am trapped. I feel like there is no hope of a future for me in this position and I don't have the resources to relocate. I miss family and friends. The limited time I have off over the holiday will be researching and applying for remote job opportunities. I can't even process what I am going to do when I have to start paying my student loan again. I am literally hanging by a thread. I don't want to get out of bed anymore. And you know what makes it all worse? I must keep showing up and acting like everything is great because no one wants to hear about my struggle. Everybody's tired and overwhelmed and the days of hero employees and forgiving bill collectors have disappeared. I know I am not alone in this type of situation and many people are suffering in silence. Comrades, you are not alone. I have cried so much and so hard this past week I woke up this morning refusing to be ashamed of my plight. We are all entitled to our truth and cannot continue to suffer for companies and people that exploit our skills and talents for their profit and expect us to smile graciously so they don't feel uncomfortable.

12. Carole BennettDecember 18,2021 at 9:13PM UTC

    I don't know what industry you're in, or what you're looking for, but feel free to PM me, and if I can help point you to a role, or opportunity, I'll be happy to do so.

13. Caroline DuffyDecember 18,2021 at 9:28PM UTC

    What industry do you work in? Would love to keep an eye out in my remote-heavy field.

14. LISA MCCARTNEYDecember 19,2021 at 1:01PM UTC

    As far as your student loans are concerned, look into IBR. It's income based repayment. There were several years I didn't pay anything due to working retail, and now that I have a good job it's something that will work in my budget.

15. AnonymousDecember 19,2021 at 6:02PM UTC

    Thank you for sharing your truth in real time. My finances are in the toilet because I was out of work for a year and 5 months. I had a very good job where I was able to be a single mom of 4 kids without any worry in NYC. We ate well, traveled well and was able to have whatever we wanted. I am also worried about Feb 1 when student loan repayment starts up again. I have my loans and my daughters NYU loan. Thank God she finished in 4 years and will help. I have been working since I was 14. I am tired so tired, but I love what I do working as an Healthcare executive. I sacrificed so much leaving a job of 20 years and not taking the negative file a lawsuit approach, when I was told to leave my job because the new boss did not know what to do with me. I am a very transparent person and refused to lie just to get ahead or throw someone under the bus. I am in a great place now

    and I work with really smart people. I will say cry get it all out but in the end do what you need to do for you. In all the negative I learned so much positive I will never put myself in the same situations as I did in my past. What I did not do then that I will definitely do NOW is go with my gut. You know your capabilities you know what makes you tick. We need to stop letting fear get in our way. Dust off your resume. Look for opportunities near your family and friends if that is what your gut is telling you. Another thing I keep in mind. Killing yourself for job is not worth it. If you die at your desk or at home for all us remote workers, the company will find someone to replace you. Please look at what is best for you and your peace of mind. This pandemic taught and showed me there is no employee loyalty. I know excellent workers that were still let go because they wanted to save their bottomline and still maintain their bonuses and lifestyles they were accustomed to. Thank you for allowing me to share. Everything will workout for you and you will be where you are suppose to be. Stay positive. Happy Holidays!

16. Carole BennettDecember 18,2021 at 9:18PM UTC

    Those 2 weeks that are left in this year are better spent allowing your people to decompress, de-stress, and enjoy their families. If you give them a breather now, they'll hit the ground running in January, with more likelihood of making those goals with less resentment over missing holiday time.

    If you push them thru the holiday season, you'll lose more momentum on the other side, and quite probably headcount as well, putting you further behind.

17. Karen GongawareDecember 20,2021 at 4:10PM UTC

    People are becoming more aware of the mental, physical, and emotional health risks associated with a "go go go' type of work. This might sound crazy but a bonus does not motivate me to become ill, crazy, or depressed due to no time off to relax and recharge.