Goal!

The group has seen a number of new members this week, so for those new members Discuss HR is the weekly article penned by fellow members about anything and everything to do with the world of HR.  This week Jill Hart-Sanderson gives us a light-hearted view of her determination to achieve her goals! (Ed Scrivener)

Goal!

What seems impossible to you at the moment? How could you increase the probability of it becoming a reality?

It’s easy to get bogged down in day-to-day processes and procedures and lose sight of what we’re ultimately trying to achieve. By concentrating on our overall outcomes it may be possible to achieve results that currently seem beyond reach.

Last week I went to hear Richard Reed, former HR director and co-founder of Innocent, speak at a seminar in London.  He was an awesome presenter and had some fabulous stories to tell.  He talked about the importance of the company mission to be ‘The Earth’s Favourite Little Healthy Food and Drinks Company’. By focusing on this, Innocent has been able to grow into the multi-million pound organisation it is today.

So how could this approach help you? HR can remind managers to think about their organisation’s overall outcomes when dealing with issues within their own teams. When you focus on a specific outcome or goal amazing things can happen.

Many years ago I was on a two week sailing course in the windy resort of Bitez in Turkey. We were split into groups depending on experience and what level we were expected to achieve.  Each morning we’d receive around two hours of theory tuition followed by an afternoon of practical instruction.

Before...

I was determined to do well, so listened carefully and focused on what I was being taught. At the end of the first week I understood the theory of wind patterns, currents, angles of the board and sail, but found sailing from A to B impossible. I could stand on the board, lift the sail and go, but no matter how hard I thought about the positioning of my body, sail and board I couldn’t move in the direction I wanted to!

In a fit of frustration after being retrieved several times by the rescue boat, I gave up. I sat on my board and concluded that I could never be a windsurfer and I would just spend the rest of my time on the beach on my own watching everyone else having fun.

Pip, one of the instructors, listened to my plight. I explained that I knew and understood the theory, but when I stood on the board and tried to put it into practice it just didn’t work. “Right” said Pip “take all of that theory and everything you have learnt this week and forget it! Climb back on the board. Look in the direction you want to go. Find a specific point and focus on it. Keep focusing on that goal and do not take your eyes off it whatever happens.”

“Yeah right” I thought, but what did I have to lose? I looked towards the beach (which was by now a long way off). I picked out a flag and focused on it. To my amazement I started to move towards it. I was going faster and faster and in the right direction. It was an off shore wind, but I was still heading for the beach. I didn’t take any notice of how I was holding the boom or what position my feet were in, it was all about the flag.

...After!

When I arrived on the beach at the exact point I’d been aiming for I was thrilled. I stayed on the water for another two hours just to make sure I had ‘got it’. I stayed focused on my goals, but went with the flow, relaxed and had a fantastic time. Thanks to Pip’s words of wisdom, by the end of the second week I passed my Royal Yachting Association level two, which is something I thought wouldn’t be possible.

Without being taught the theory first I wouldn’t have been able to do it, but focusing on the end result made the crucial difference, turning my learning into success.

What are your organisation’s goals? Are they clear and how can you help others reach them?

Sometimes you need to let go of theories and processes and focus on where you want to be, not how you will get there. As Stephen R Covey says in his book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, ‘begin with the end in mind’!

About the author

Jill loves working with the team at Rambutan helping people to think, lead and communicate brilliantly in order to achieve business, team or personal goals. Before joining the Rambutan bunch, Jill was part of the HR Consultancy Team at University College London. Her previous management experience in both the public and private sector means she has seen how great HR support can make a real difference to individual managers and organisations as a whole

Blog | Website

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Discuss HR is the blog for Human Resources UK, the leading LinkedIn group for those involved with HR in the UK.  Next week’s Discuss HR will be published on Thursday 7^th April and will be written by HR recruitment specialist Ed Scrivener.