Paired Elements for Leaders
Objective and Plan
The Way Forward
academy
An objective is directional—it’s about moving at the right speed and in the right general direction.
A plan is a way forward strategy—it’s the next visible, actionable steps in service of reaching the objective.
As a leader, knowing your team’s individual and collective objectives and plans will increase your opportunity to engage them more effectively and to achieve greater success.
The distinction between objective and plan is an important one to get right, and getting it right can make all the difference in our team’s performance.
lesson 1
Introduction
course objectives
- Differentiate between objectives and plans.
- Connect individual objectives and plans to your team and organization’s objectives and plans.
- Construct a connecting framework that engages the individual while advancing the objectives and plans of your team.
Objective and Plan Introduction
Plans activate objectives. Plans also accept the reality that these objectives—these “big picture” purposes—are often farther off than nearby and by nature of that distance are hard to see and hard to navigate toward.
With an objective on the horizon, a functional plan needs to only see the next few steps to move in the right direction.
lesson 2
Making the Connection
Connecting Objective and Plan
An objective is directional—it’s about moving at the right speed and in the right general direction.
A plan is a way forward strategy—it’s the next visible, actionable steps in service of reaching the objective.
personal assessments
a moment for reflection
Connecting Objective and Plan Activity
To turn a dream into reality, we need to clarify our purpose (the objective) and chart the way forward (the plan). How well do you connect organization, team, and individual objectives to plans? Are your plans adaptable or rigid? Relationship-focused or task-focused? Consider these questions as you answer the prompts below.
lesson 3
Objectives in Leadership
What is an Objective?
As a leader, it’s important to understand the objectives driving your team members.
Think of it as a bridge that connects “where they are now” to “where they want to be.”
personal assessments
a moment for reflection
What is an Objective Activity
You will need to invest time with your team members to discuss how they see themselves and their “grand purpose” or objective. Understanding their perspective is the first step in helping to connect their objectives with those of your team and organization. As a thought exercise, consider your own sense of grand vision and objective.
Objective is a Discovery
When it comes to setting goals and objectives, we often think we need to have grand visions of what we want to do.
We think we need to be specific about all the desired results and possible outcomes. But all you need to start is a direction.
lesson 4
Plans in Leadership
What is a Plan?
Plans will supply you with the momentum to move forward towards your objectives.
But they need to be flexible enough to evolve in ever-changing environments.
A Plan is a Circle
It may be useful to think of plans in terms of cycles.
Connect your objectives to plan your days, weeks, and months, these cycles will begin to appear.
lesson 5
Leading Synergy
Bringing Objectives and Plans Together
An objective is directional—it’s about moving at the right speed and in the right general direction.
A plan is a way forward strategy—it’s the next visible, actionable steps in service of reaching the objective.
lesson 6
Conclusion
Objective and Plan Conclusion
Your job as a leader is to help your team articulate and shape their objectives, and craft plans to reach these objectives.
Doing so will move team members forward, build momentum, and open new perspectives, opportunities, and directions.
Responses