Home       About Peak Strategies         Our Programs         Brochures         Articles & Research         Dates          Contact Us               Gwynne N. Dawdy, Ph.D.

           

Three of the issues that inhibits people from performing at their best personally, professionally, or athletically are: incomplete or ineffective goals, goals are not in alignment with their self image, and a lack of motivation. These issues often work hand in hand with one another and with other plaguing issues such as:

• Poor communication
• Low group cohesion
• Anxiety
• Stressed relationships with leaders or teammates
• Poor planning, practice, or rehearsal

    In on-site workshops or private sessions, clients learn:

• How to develop clear and understood goals
• How to prepare mentally for goal achievement
• How to prepare mentally for the motivation to accomplish this goal
• How to manage stress and low motivation
• How to rehearse and plan strategies for achievement, cohesion, and optimal performance

These issues are addressed differently for different personality types. What may be natural for one type may be difficult for another. By understanding the different types of people and what the strengths are for each type, people are more understanding of themselves and others around them. Incorporating assessments like the Peoplemap™ Questionnaire and the FIRO-B offer a starting point from which clients can understand their strengths and preferences. These tools can help to custom design an individual program suitable for your personality preference and your communication style.

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Goal Getting Tips

 

The acronym SMART is a great guideline for setting tips.

 

S: Specific... Your goals need to be specific and not vague. Vague goals may earn a response of "I'll try", which typically means "it'll never happen." What is the difference? Specific: I will lose 20 pounds in the next five months.  Vague: I will lose weight by summer.

 

M: Measurable... This is similar to the above in that it involves some type of quantitative measurement. By saying, "we will improve customer service", you leave yourself open to many interpretations and perhaps a lost goal. By saying, "we will decrease our customer complaints by 10% over the next six weeks", there is little room for error in interpretation. In this, everyone is on the same page and has some responsibility in making sure the goal is met.

 

A: Achievable... In order to encourage everyone's commitment to meeting the goal, the goal needs to be achievable. If people think, "this will never work" they are less likely to even attempt to achieve the goal. If your team believes the goal is attainable, realistic AND challenging, they will work to achieve it.

 

R: Rewarded... What is the point in achieving a goal if there is no reward to it? It must be rewarded, no matter how small the recognition, in order to keep our momentum moving. Even goals within goals need to be rewarded so that we keep pushing to reach the greater goal.

 

T: Time-oriented... If there is no deadline, or if the deadline is adjustable, people are likely to wait until the last minute or continue to push the deadline back. We must have some sort of time-frame in the goal for it to be attainable. If the goal is team-oriented, make sure the team members can offer input on the time line or understand why the time line is important.

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Goals inevitably have obstacles. What makes goals difficult to achieve is if these obstacles seem bigger than life. Do these obstacles have to keep us from reaching our goals? Absolutely not! How do we deal with these goals? By partializing the problem.

 

We need to step back and attack the problem a little at a time. Instead of looking at all of the things that are impeding progress, just focus and solve one thing at a time. By focusing on solutions to the problems, we focus on achievement. When focusing on the obstacle as a whole, we focus on the problem and not the solution. One easy example comes from my experiences as a counselor to clients desiring weight loss but dealing with emotional eating. Many of these clients had over 100 pounds to lose. When they focused on the entire 100 pounds, they seemed as if they weren't even going to bother to try to lose weight. They became flustered and then apathetic about their health. Together, we would break down their weight loss goals into 20 pound increments. I told them to only focus on 20 pounds. We partialized the problems. We would focus on the solutions to problems, before they even came up. Sooner rather than later, clients would lose the pounds. I had them reward themselves (not with food!). We then focused on another 20 pounds... Bit by bit, most of these clients lost all the weight they wanted to lose. They gained confidence and were ready and able to then focus on solutions to keep the weight off.

 

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On-Site or Open Enrollment Goal Getting Program:

Actively achieve personal, team, and organizational objectives while embracing potential for growth.

 

Organizations and individuals often cite the need to not only set goals, but to achieve them. All too frequently, people are unable to attain their objectives. Understand your commitment, vision, and values, and design a road map to successfully get the goals you set.

• Help every level of your organization excel at achieving results

• Develop critical skills for setting and achieving goals

• A fun and interactive 3-4 hour program

• Set and achieve personal and professional objectives, which align with the vision and mission

• Learn the vital role self-image plays and how to utilize this knowledge for one’s own benefit

• Recognize the critical elements of peak performance

• Recognize the different means for motivation and how to inspire achieving the objectives

      Who Should Attend: Managers, supervisors, project/team leaders, human resources professionals, any staff or employee wishing to achieve professional or personal objectives, and counselors