Friday 21 April, 2006
We often hear people being frustrated because they believe
that they have worked hard only to discover that the ‘goalposts have
been moved'.
In other words, the direction or objective has been moved either before
we get to it or once we have arrived. It not only applies to employees
in an organisation. We also hear it being said of Government by both
businesses and public sectors and associations that represent business
sectors.
Of course many Governments, Politicians and Civil Servants have made an art out of moving goal posts as they seek to achieve their own ends. In fact I would say that to be successful one needs to learn how to anticipate the moves of the professional goalpost movers in advance, and deal with them! Even in business there are the mischief makers who are seeking to alter a situation to meet their own needs.
We are living in an age when we are very achievement orientated. We want outcomes, we want successes and we want people to achieve goals. So we set people goals or objectives and most people work hard to achieve them. So why do we get the situation where the goal posts get moved?
Of course it may simply be that the person misheard the objective and so that miscommunication creates the perception of having moved the goalposts.
There are really only two legitimate reasons that the goalposts seem to have been moved.
First of all the change needs to be communicated as early as possible so that people can make the necessary adjustments. This is particularly important if the moving of the goalposts is in a different direction. If the goalposts have simply been raised, then the direction may remain the same, but the effort and speed may need to be adjusted. However, if the goalposts have moved to a new location in a different direction, then this may mean stopping and starting again in the new direction or re-adjusting the compass to steer the activities in a new way.
As well as making sure that the information is passed on as soon as is practical, there is also the need to ensure that the communication is clear with as much background and rationale to ensure that people appreciate the situation.
When goalposts have to be moved or extended, it is important how the communication process takes place. If people are left to imagine why the goalposts have moved, they will most likely think the worst. They will imagine anything from conspiracy to a leadership that does not know what it is doing. At a time when goalposts have to be moved, it is probably important to have people motivated as much as possible to make the change and not de-motivated and wasting energy on thinking the worst of the situation.
The communication needs to include the rationale or thinking behind the decision. If people don't understand the reason why the change is taking place, then they will find it hard to commit to the new goal or objective.
So, clear and concise communication is the key to motivating people towards the new objective. Communication is also important to make sure that everyone knows what has happened and not just some of the people. There is no point in some people knowing that the goalposts have moved and not others. Everyone needs to get the information and understand what they need to do in relation to the changes. It is also important to ensure that people are clear about what support is available to assist in making the changes.
The role of the leader is to ensure that the communication is clear and gets out to all people in a manner that allows people to get refocused and motivated to achieve. The visibility of the leader at this time is important, as people want to be able to hear it from the "horses mouth". How this information is communicated is as important as making sure it is communicated. A leader brings credibility to the message and allows people to weigh up how genuine the leader is.
Our second situation is where goalposts are moved out of greed or in a desire to undermine another party. We see political parties doing this to each other in an attempt to undermine the opposition. However, there are also some employers that think that the goals they set their people were just too easy and so raise the objective to make them do more.
In this case, the role of the leader is even more at stake. Greed and subversion are traits that undermine leaders and devalue the relationship with their people in a way that creates distrust and breeds resentment. This is not an environment that ensures future commitment and achievement.
Yet for some reason we see the spectacle of the moving goalposts happening in organisations and in politics and people slowly losing trust in their leadership. In the political arena the spectacle is normally taking place by the opposition or the media who delight in creating perceptions that may undermine the credibility of the opposition or (in the case of the media) sells newspapers!
But even here it is not always a good step to be taking. The opposition can be seen as being negative or being seen as subversive in a way that does them no favours. The same applies to the media who can be in danger of turning their readers against them.
The secret to ensuring that the perception of "moving goalposts" is not allowed to develop into mistrust and a breakdown of relationships that undermine the leaders ability to lead, is in the way changes are communicated.
So I ask you to consider how you are managing people's perceptions relating to ‘moving goalposts'. Are you even aware that people have this perception of you or your organisation? It is so easy for this perception to be generated without you realising it.
Are you aware of how your managers are being perceived and how good they are at managing the perceptions of people at all levels? If you don't manage people's perceptions about moving goalposts, then your management team and you as the leader may well be undermined without you knowing it.
Source:ceoonline.com
Of course many Governments, Politicians and Civil Servants have made an art out of moving goal posts as they seek to achieve their own ends. In fact I would say that to be successful one needs to learn how to anticipate the moves of the professional goalpost movers in advance, and deal with them! Even in business there are the mischief makers who are seeking to alter a situation to meet their own needs.
We are living in an age when we are very achievement orientated. We want outcomes, we want successes and we want people to achieve goals. So we set people goals or objectives and most people work hard to achieve them. So why do we get the situation where the goal posts get moved?
Of course it may simply be that the person misheard the objective and so that miscommunication creates the perception of having moved the goalposts.
There are really only two legitimate reasons that the goalposts seem to have been moved.
- It may simply be that the goalposts needed to be moved because the
game had changed. In other words, the objective is no longer the
objective or the objective is not enough and more is needed. In these
cases there is normally a rational reason that can be explained and,
even though people may not like the change, or the rationale, they
understand what the situation is and deal with it accordingly.
- The other occasion when the goalposts may get moved centres around greed or subversive activities that are designed to undermine the person or organisation or both.
First of all the change needs to be communicated as early as possible so that people can make the necessary adjustments. This is particularly important if the moving of the goalposts is in a different direction. If the goalposts have simply been raised, then the direction may remain the same, but the effort and speed may need to be adjusted. However, if the goalposts have moved to a new location in a different direction, then this may mean stopping and starting again in the new direction or re-adjusting the compass to steer the activities in a new way.
As well as making sure that the information is passed on as soon as is practical, there is also the need to ensure that the communication is clear with as much background and rationale to ensure that people appreciate the situation.
When goalposts have to be moved or extended, it is important how the communication process takes place. If people are left to imagine why the goalposts have moved, they will most likely think the worst. They will imagine anything from conspiracy to a leadership that does not know what it is doing. At a time when goalposts have to be moved, it is probably important to have people motivated as much as possible to make the change and not de-motivated and wasting energy on thinking the worst of the situation.
The communication needs to include the rationale or thinking behind the decision. If people don't understand the reason why the change is taking place, then they will find it hard to commit to the new goal or objective.
So, clear and concise communication is the key to motivating people towards the new objective. Communication is also important to make sure that everyone knows what has happened and not just some of the people. There is no point in some people knowing that the goalposts have moved and not others. Everyone needs to get the information and understand what they need to do in relation to the changes. It is also important to ensure that people are clear about what support is available to assist in making the changes.
The role of the leader is to ensure that the communication is clear and gets out to all people in a manner that allows people to get refocused and motivated to achieve. The visibility of the leader at this time is important, as people want to be able to hear it from the "horses mouth". How this information is communicated is as important as making sure it is communicated. A leader brings credibility to the message and allows people to weigh up how genuine the leader is.
Our second situation is where goalposts are moved out of greed or in a desire to undermine another party. We see political parties doing this to each other in an attempt to undermine the opposition. However, there are also some employers that think that the goals they set their people were just too easy and so raise the objective to make them do more.
In this case, the role of the leader is even more at stake. Greed and subversion are traits that undermine leaders and devalue the relationship with their people in a way that creates distrust and breeds resentment. This is not an environment that ensures future commitment and achievement.
Yet for some reason we see the spectacle of the moving goalposts happening in organisations and in politics and people slowly losing trust in their leadership. In the political arena the spectacle is normally taking place by the opposition or the media who delight in creating perceptions that may undermine the credibility of the opposition or (in the case of the media) sells newspapers!
But even here it is not always a good step to be taking. The opposition can be seen as being negative or being seen as subversive in a way that does them no favours. The same applies to the media who can be in danger of turning their readers against them.
The secret to ensuring that the perception of "moving goalposts" is not allowed to develop into mistrust and a breakdown of relationships that undermine the leaders ability to lead, is in the way changes are communicated.
So I ask you to consider how you are managing people's perceptions relating to ‘moving goalposts'. Are you even aware that people have this perception of you or your organisation? It is so easy for this perception to be generated without you realising it.
Are you aware of how your managers are being perceived and how good they are at managing the perceptions of people at all levels? If you don't manage people's perceptions about moving goalposts, then your management team and you as the leader may well be undermined without you knowing it.
Source:ceoonline.com
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