Here’s the deal: expecting leaders to do all the heavy lifting when it comes to setting and managing team goals is not just unrealistic—it’s outdated. Leaders already have enough on their plates, and honestly, they’re not as plugged into the team’s daily grind as they used to be. To complicate things, the boundaries between the many teams we’re part of—both formal and informal—are increasingly blurred, making it more essential than ever to clarify the purpose and priorities of each work group we belong to. So, what’s the solution? Teams need to step up and take ownership of goal setting. When everyone’s involved, goals actually mean something, and the team is more likely to crush them. Plus, this approach doesn’t just lighten the leader’s load—it creates stronger, more cohesive teams that actually work.
Team goals aren’t just a bigger version of your teammates’ to-do list. They’re different. They require the whole group to work together, and the best ones are created with the team, not for the team. When you do it right, it opens up awareness across teammates, expands accountability across the team, reduces the burden on the leader, and improves trust and opportunities for efficient collaboration. And here’s the kicker: the goal-setting process itself is just as important as the goals. It’s a chance to reflect, clear up misunderstandings, and get on the same page. Plus, when everyone has a say, they’re way more invested in the outcome.
A Real-Life Example
A client of mine recently shared a challenge during a coaching session: his senior team was struggling to make decisions effectively. This CEO admitted that he frequently felt the need to dominate discussions, because team members hesitated to step into their roles fully. This dynamic was particularly problematic in a biotech company with multiple divisions running simultaneous projects that required the senior team’s attention. The organization was gearing up to double in size, with new hires being added to meet rising demand, but not everyone on the team shared the CEO’s growth-focused mindset, and this frustrated him, which caused him to tighten his grip on decisions. Despite delivering exceptional work, internal stakeholders voiced concerns about a lack of autonomy, feeling sidelined in how they managed their responsibilities.
When I asked why he thought his team wasn’t stepping up and taking ownership of decisions, he didn’t have a clear answer. He explained that he’d been emphasizing the importance of decision-making and autonomy in weekly meetings, but nothing had changed. So, I asked him a straightforward question: “What unified goal does your team possess around how you make decisions together?” That question shifted his perspective. He realized he’d been talking at his team but hadn’t truly been listening to them or making them a part of how they operate together. This led him to open up a new conversation with his team. What they shared was eye-opening: they felt his strong opinions dominated meetings and decisions, leaving them little space to process new information or engage in decision-making. After digging into the issue, the team created this SMART goal:
By the end of Q2, the senior team will improve decision-making processes by using a structured framework, ensuring at least 80% participation in decisions (tracked through meeting minutes) and achieving a 4.5/5 satisfaction score in post-meeting surveys on inclusivity and clarity.
Why did it work? Because it hit all the right notes:
- Specific: They focused on decision-making and team participation.
- Measurable: They set clear metrics (participation and survey scores).
- Achievable: They had the tools and support to make it happen.
- Relevant: It addressed the team’s real issues and tied into the company’s growth plans.
- Time-bound: They gave themselves a solid deadline (end of Q2).
What was successful about this goal setting process was that this challenge shifted from the CEO’s problem to the entire team’s problem. The CEO needed to let go of his grasp on decisions, but the team rallied behind him and took equal accountability for HOW they were going to step up and step into decisions. Furthermore, they realized that their goal needed to be more focused on how they made decisions, rather than what the decisions were. Once the team took ownership of the goal, the dynamic shifted. They felt empowered, and things actually started moving in the right direction. This moment also marked a turning point for the CEO. He began to see that creating space for others required intentional effort and compassion and that supporting each teammate would look different, depending on their individual styles and needs—something that didn’t come naturally to him but was critical for fostering true collaboration.
Seven Tips for Teams to Crush Their Goals
My client’s example showcases the journey around one challenge and one goal and hopefully is a reminder that we all have the power to get more aligned and connected through goal setting. Want to nail your team goals? Here’s are 7 ways to help your team craft and meet their goals:
- Identify your purpose in goal setting with your team. Before the team comes together, ask everyone to think about why you want to set goals and what you hope to achieve with them. Do you want to behave differently? Do you want be motivated to achieve something great? Do you want to rally around a specific organizational goal? Do you hope to be more interdependent? Spend some time thinking about your hoped outcome and walk into the conversation with this as either a quiet intention or an outwardly stated purpose of the process.
- Define Your Purpose Together. 𝖶𝗁𝗒 𝖽𝗈𝖾𝗌 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝗍𝖾𝖺𝗆 𝖾𝗑𝗂𝗌𝗍? 𝖶𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗋𝗈𝗅𝖾 𝖽𝗈𝖾𝗌 𝗂𝗍 𝗉𝗅𝖺𝗒 𝗂𝗇 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗅𝖺𝗋𝗀𝖾𝗋 𝗈𝗋𝗀𝖺𝗇𝗂𝗓𝖺𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇 𝗈𝗋 𝗌𝗒𝗌𝗍𝖾𝗆? 𝖶𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗆𝖾𝖺𝗌𝗎𝗋𝖺𝖻𝗅𝖾 𝗂𝗆𝗉𝖺𝖼𝗍 𝖽𝗈𝖾𝗌 𝗈𝗎𝗋 𝗍𝖾𝖺𝗆 𝖼𝗋𝖾𝖺𝗍𝖾? Answer these questions as a group.
- 𝖢𝗅𝖺𝗋𝗂𝖿𝗒 the distinction between organizational, team, and individual goals. 𝖳𝖾𝖺𝗆 𝗀𝗈𝖺𝗅𝗌 𝗌𝗁𝗈𝗎𝗅𝖽 𝖿𝗈𝖼𝗎𝗌 𝗈𝗇 𝗈𝗎𝗍𝖼𝗈𝗆𝖾𝗌 𝖺𝖼𝗁𝗂𝖾𝗏𝖺𝖻𝗅𝖾 𝗈𝗇𝗅𝗒 𝗍𝗁𝗋𝗈𝗎𝗀𝗁 𝖼𝗈𝗅𝗅𝖾𝖼𝗍𝗂𝗏𝖾 𝖾𝖿𝖿𝗈𝗋𝗍. 𝖠𝗌 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗇𝖺𝗋𝗋𝗈𝗐 𝗂𝗇 𝗈𝗇 𝗐𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗒𝗈𝗎𝗋 𝗍𝖾𝖺𝗆 𝗇𝖾𝖾𝖽𝗌 𝗍𝗈 𝖼𝗋𝖾𝖺𝗍𝖾 𝗍𝗈𝗀𝖾𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗋 (𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗐𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗂𝗍 𝖽𝗈𝖾𝗌𝗇’𝗍), 𝗒𝗈𝗎’𝗅𝗅 𝗎𝗇𝖼𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗋 𝗁𝗈𝗐 𝖽𝖾𝖾𝗉𝗅𝗒 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗌𝗁𝗈𝗎𝗅𝖽 𝖻𝖾 𝖼𝗈𝗅𝗅𝖺𝖻𝗈𝗋𝖺𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖼𝗈𝗆𝗆𝗎𝗇𝗂𝖼𝖺𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗀.
- Discuss accountability. 𝖤𝗏𝖾𝗋𝗒𝗈𝗇𝖾 𝗈𝗇 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗍𝖾𝖺𝗆 𝗐𝗂𝗅𝗅 𝗇𝖾𝖾𝖽 𝖽𝗂𝖿𝖿𝖾𝗋𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗅𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗅𝗌 𝗈𝖿 𝖼𝗈𝗆𝗆𝗂𝗍𝗆𝖾𝗇𝗍 𝗍𝗈 𝖺𝖼𝗁𝗂𝖾𝗏𝖾 𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗌𝖾 𝗀𝗈𝖺𝗅𝗌 𝗐𝗂𝗍𝗁 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝗈𝗇𝖾 𝖺𝗇𝗈𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗋. 𝖢𝗅𝖺𝗋𝗂𝖿𝗒 𝗋𝗈𝗅𝖾𝗌 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖾𝗑𝗉𝖾𝖼𝗍𝖺𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇𝗌 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗋𝗒𝗈𝗇𝖾 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖺𝗌𝗄- 𝖧𝗈𝗐 𝗐𝗂𝗅𝗅 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗍𝖾𝖺𝗆 𝗌𝗍𝖺𝗒 𝗈𝗇 𝗍𝗋𝖺𝖼𝗄? 𝖧𝗈𝗐 𝗐𝗂𝗅𝗅 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝖾𝗇𝖼𝗈𝗎𝗋𝖺𝗀𝖾 & 𝗌𝗎𝗉𝗉𝗈𝗋𝗍 𝗈𝗇𝖾 𝖺𝗇𝗈𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗋 𝗐𝗁𝖾𝗇 𝗈𝗇𝖾 𝗈𝖿 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗂𝗌𝗇’𝗍 𝖼𝗈𝗇𝗍𝗋𝗂𝖻𝗎𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖺𝗌 𝖾𝗑𝗉𝖾𝖼𝗍𝖾𝖽 𝗍𝗈 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗍𝖾𝖺𝗆 𝖾𝖿𝖿𝗈𝗋𝗍? 𝖣𝗈𝗇’𝗍 𝗅𝖾𝖺𝗏𝖾 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝗎𝗉 𝗍𝗈 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗅𝖾𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋 𝗍𝗈 𝗀𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗋𝗇.
- Write them down. Research indicates that writing down goals makes for an 80% higher chance of achieving them.
- Track progress on goals in a structured way. Have a standard process for measuring progress, adjusting along the way if needed and celebrating when you’re on track. Knowing you’ve achieved something you set out to do, coupled with the sense of accomplishment, are very strong motivators for teams who sometimes forget working together has its benefit.
- Learn from mistakes. Not all goals will be met—some may be overly ambitious, unrealistic, or derailed by unexpected changes. That’s just part of work. Help your team understand that failure is okay; goals are guides, not endpoints. Accepting the possibility of failure isn’t about settling for mediocrity—it’s about recognizing uncertainty. Focus on learning: What will we do differently next time? Could we have prevented this? Then move forward and improve.
Here’s the bottom line: leaders shouldn’t carry the weight of goal setting alone. The real magic happens when teams take the reins and collaborate to set goals together. This process doesn’t just define what success looks like—it builds trust, accountability, and meaningful connections among teammates. When teams step up and own their goals, incredible things happen. Leaders can focus on guiding rather than controlling, and the team becomes empowered to thrive. So, stop waiting for the leader to solve every problem or outline every step. Look to each other. Bring your insights, energy, and commitment to the table. Your team’s success isn’t just about meeting goals—it’s about creating a culture where everyone has a voice, everyone contributes, and everyone feels proud of what they’ve accomplished together. It starts with stepping up. Take that step today.
