Team Goals

To develop a "winning team," unambiguous, measurable and time certain goals need to be established. The goals must be understood by each team member, such that each team member can clearly articulate them. Goals must be measurable, or at least verifiable. Without measurable goals, teams may lose direction and will not be able to gauge performance or determine progress. Goals need to have defined, dates for accomplishment. A sense of urgency keeps teams motivated and moving towards goal achievement.

Goals need to be set by the team, not imposed by the organization or the team leader. The organization establishes the team to solve a problem. Team goals and how the problem is to resolved is up to the team. Goals must be achievable, that is, neither too easy nor too difficult. Goals should be structured so that there are opportunities for "small wins" along the way in the progression to full achievement. Goals should also be tied to concrete work products from the team.

Goals must not be generic, such as "increase production," "reduce waste," or "increase safety." Goals must be specific, such as: "increase product produced by 30% with no increase in cost by the end of the fourth quarter," "reduce manufacturing raw material waste by 20% by the end of June," or "reduce the number of General Aviation accident fatalities by 5% by the end of the Fiscal Year."

The goal of NASA's teams was not just to "create the best space program in the world," but "to land a man on the moon and safely return him by the end of the 1960s."