BUSINESS MANDATE
fountainhead of excellence
1 MAY 2022
BUSINESS MANDATE
fountainhead of excellence
47 MAY 2022
How to get to your next level of performance by setting the right goals in whatever work you do? Sangeeta Sumesh shows how to empower yourself for high performance to achieve the goals you have set for yourself.
T
here is a high performer in each of us. We need
There is also the fourth P. If your goal is something
to recognise moments of high performance and
that you are passionate about, then it becomes easier to
channelise our energy in the right direction. It
achieve. If you are clear about what growth means to
is important to set goals. There are three reasons to set goals:
you, your subconscious mind will help you to achieve it.
SMART TOM Goals
1. It gives clarity on what you want to do 2. Once you have clarity, you can plan the path
What is high performance? Achieving superior results by performing at high standards is high
ahead. 3. Goals are needed to achieve what you want to
performance. Remember you are competing against yourself and becoming a better version of you. We have
achieve.
all heard that goals must be SMART- that is specific,
The 3Ps of Goal Setting
measurable, achievable, relevant and time bound. The
According to me, if goal setting is an art, then there are three Ps in the art of goal setting—Personalise, Practical and Progressive.
goals must also conform to TOM. T: Time frame. What do you want to achieve in the short term, medium term and long term?
• Personalize your goals and customise them for O: Objective. The objective propels you towards your
your scenario. • Make it practical. It should not be just a fancy thing.
goals. M: It must be measurable. Set your measurement
• It must be progressive. Be clear about the
targets.
progress that you want to achieve. 48
MAY 2022
BUSINESS MANDATE
fountainhead of excellence
The Rude Awakening
I come from a very humble background. My
CSR will help you to achieve your goals. I am not talking
grandfather was a famous and well-to-do doctor in
about Corporate Social
Chennai. He passed away suddenly and the family was
Responsibility. C stands for your
not geared to face this challenge. My grandmother, a very sweet lady, did not know how to manage the
challenges; S stands for your
finances. My dad happened to be the second son and
solutions and R stands for your
he had three sisters to be married. As his elder brother
reflections.
had some challenges, my father when he was just 12, had to shoulder the responsibilities of the family. Because of lack of financial management, the well-
goal. Let us look at the 7Ds that will help us in achieving our goals:
to-do family flipped over. So I was born in a very
• Dream about what you want to achieve.
humble family. But as a young girl, I always dreamt.
• Determination: Be determined in pursuing
There was no TV or telephone or car at home. As I grew
your goals.
up, I resolved to keep my parents happy, comfortable
• Develop the required skillsets.
and in a much better financial shape. I dreamt about
• Discipline: Develop the discipline.
getting good education and enjoying foreign trips.
• Design your path forward. • Drive: Have the drive and that is what
The 7Ds and CSR in Achieving Goals
motivates you.
It is never too late to start dreaming about your
• Deliver the required results.
BUSINESS MANDATE
fountainhead of excellence
49 MAY 2022
Reflect periodically on what you
So, goals must have purposefulness. When you
are doing and ask yourself why
don't have clarity, ask yourself what is it that you want
you are doing that. Know your
to achieve and why you want to achieve. That will open
priorities. Complete the things
up a lot of doors for you. Being purposeful will help you to achieve your goals faster.
that are more important.
Can’t he do it, Mom? How can one overcome lack of time? This anecdote With seven Ds, getting to your goals is going to be
happened many years ago. My husband's friends had
a lot easier. Also, CSR will help you to achieve your
come home for dinner. I had prepared everything and
goals. I am not talking about Corporate Social
was waiting for them. But they were chatting on, as they
Responsibility. C stands for your challenges; S stands
had met after a long time. There was no sign of them
for your solutions and R stands for your reflections.
joining for dinner. My little daughter felt sleepy and she wanted me to put her to sleep. If I did that, I knew
Three Common Challenges
that I would also fall asleep, as I was too tired after a
Working with clients, I have come across some common challenges. Three common challenges are:
and once I served the dinner for her dad and his friends, I would make her sleep.
• Lack of clarity. • Lack of time. • Remaining
long day. I kept telling her to hang on for some time
Suddenly, she asked me, "Can't dad serve the in
the
comfort
zone.
Magic
happens only outside the comfort zone. So step out of your comfort zone.
dinner for him and his friends and clean up the table?" That was an 'aha' moment for me. It never struck to me. My husband had no hesitation in doing that. But,
What are the solutions for these challenges? A
as ladies, we generally tend to think that the whole
client of mine was the youngest VP in a multinational.
world rests on our shoulders. The problem is in our
She had planned her career growth so well. She had
thinking. If you can delegate, you can easily manage
scaled many promotions very quickly. She accepted the
your time. Partner with your family and colleagues at
promotions, only if they were leading to her growth.
work.
But at one point in time, she felt a little stuck. There were many disruptions and changes going on in the organisation and she felt overwhelmed by them. When
Have the Blisscipline How can you step out of your comfort zone? I am an author now but I never imagined that I could write
I heard her journey, I was impressed. As our conversation started, she realised that she was not aware of where she must be heading next. She understood that instead of getting stuck with the challenges, she must focus on the goals she had set for
books. At the launch of my first book, I had butterflies in my stomach and even thought of calling it off, fearing criticisms for my book. Thankfully, it happened and one book led to the other.
herself. 50
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BUSINESS MANDATE
fountainhead of excellence
The solution to this is what I call 'Blissicipline'- that is, to make bliss out of whatever discipline that you want to get into. If you realise that whatever you do will be bliss, you can get out of your comfort zone. Similar thing happened when I decided to quit my corporate role and wanted to start on my own as a leadership coach. This phobia does not help you to grow. It is not easy to get over but you can train your
yourself why you are doing that. Know your priorities. Complete the things that are more important.
GET HIGH
Y
our goals must help you to Grow, to Excel and to feel Triumphant about yourself (GET). Choose areas that make you HIGH- that is,
make you to feel Happy, Interested in what you do, do
mind. If you can motivate and push yourself, many
things that are Gainful (financial or otherwise) and
things can get better.
make you feel Heroic. This is what I call GET HIGH as
Reflect periodically on what you are doing and ask
Is there a difference between men and women in setting their goals and defining high performance?
What I have observed is that men are not as ar culate as women. On goal se ng, men are over‐confident about themselves. Women on the other hand, though they may have the capabili es, doubt themselves. Their self‐doubt comes in the way of their high performance. They also feel overwhelmed at the slightest of provoca ons and challenges.
Sometimes, in the journey, people get low. How can you get over this?
When people go through a low, it is be er to give a pause. Like a catapult, when we take a step back and look at ourselves, it gives us a be er picture. You don't have to be a high performer con nuously. The breaks will help us to rejuvenate. Feel good about what you are doing.
an acronym. Remember, High performance is not a destination but a journey.
How can we balance goals and dreams?
Dreams are the star ng point of our goals. My dreams about improving the quality of my life led to my goals and growth. The subconscious mind will tell you to be comfortable. But when you work towards your goals that help you realise your dreams, you stay mo vated.
What is the relevance of aptitude in goal setting?
If you have the ap tude for something, you can achieve your goals faster. But we o en tell ourselves that we have and do not have certain ap tudes. To give you an example, the ini al part of my career, I spent in South Africa. We always think that only lean women can dance well. In South Africa, I saw many South African women, who were huge looking, loved music and dance. When they walked on the roads, they would hum a nice song and go about dancing gracefully. So we have to ques on our beliefs about our ap tudes. Unless we BUSINESS MANDATE
fountainhead of excellence
try it out, we may not know if we are good at something.
Is it advisable to set tough goals?
Goals should neither be too easy nor too tough to achieve. One needs to balance. Restrict it to one or two goals. Go one goal a er the other. Your goals must make you to step out of your comfort zone.
Does culture in an organisation drive high performance or is it because of high performing individuals, the organisation succeeds?
For individuals to be high performers, they need to set goals and follow whatever we discussed. If the business needs to a high‐ performing one, the organisa on must have and promote a high performance culture. Many parameters contribute to a high performance organisa onal culture, like the arts of communica on, influencing, 51 MAY 2022
A software person
writes the program in such a way that the customer gets the results that they want. The mind also needs to be programmed.
leading the team, ge ng things done, being purposeful and so on. It can vary from organisa on to organisa on.
Should goals be such that we need to upskill ourselves?
Yes. If that is what growth means to you, you need to upskill yourself and move from one peak to the other.
While delegating, we often end up following up and resolving disputes. How can we overcome this?
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Ensure that the person to whom you delegate is trained adequately. Communicate your needs effec vely. They may not complete it the way you would have done it. But s ll it is be er. Train them and be ar culate.
would have been much more, if he had done that. You must be able to take these conscious calls and decisions.
What should we delegate and what should not be delegated?
No. It has never been. Thanks to my upbringing, I have always believed in myself. So believe in your abili es and move ahead.
One of my clients was a bootstrapped entrepreneur. As our conversa on started, he was very excited, as he had managed to build his website, though he is from a non‐ technical background. He was thrilled at what he had achieved. It was a great job and I appreciated him. He, of course, wanted to save some money. Then he talked about the revenue growth. He said he had a huge pipeline of clients but he did not have the me to reach out to them. I asked him, "What if you had invested your me in contac ng your poten al customers, instead of developing the website? What if you had outsourced it?" He realised that the revenue growth
BUSINESS MANDATE
fountainhead of excellence
Has gender been an obstacle in your life?
How do we keep our mind always positive and not overwhelmed by negativity?
A so ware person writes the program in such a way that the customer gets the results that they want. The mind also needs to be programmed. If you train your mind to look at posi ve things happening in your life and organisa on and the posi ve quali es in people, then your mind will remain posi ve. You have the remote control of your mind. Tune to the channels that you want.