A Ridiculously Simple Cheat Code to Achieve Goals

The quarter just ended and your reviewing goals with your team… Results aren’t great.

Your team was constantly busy all quarter, even overwhelmed at points. How could you not achieve your goals?

Even worse, your team is discouraged. They are giving you everything they have, and it’s not enough.

You’re not afraid to hold your team accountable, but you’re even confused on what happened. What should you tell them to do differently?

How should you navigate this as a leader of your team? Is it their fault… or yours?

Bad news: it’s your fault.

Good news: it’s their fault too.

More good news: it’s incredibly simple to solve.

We’ll get into the ridiculously simple cheat code you can put in place IMMEDIATELY and start getting better results on team goals, but first lets talk about how we got here in the first place.

We Know Our Goals, Why Do We Miss Them?

If you’re like most teams, everyone is actually very aware of the goals. You’ve stated them clearly, they likely show up in team meetings as reminders, and everyone wants them to happen. So what’s the problem?

The problem is everything besides the goals:

• Other projects

• Day to day operations

• Client requests

• Customer support tickets

• Email / Slack / Teams / Text Messages

You get the idea. Your team is pulled in so many directions day over day, week over week, leaving them with little time to actually do the things that will make their goals happen.

On top of that, overwhelm leads to an increase in buffering: the things we do to get out of our own heads from time to time, like endless scrolling on Instagram or YouTube or eating unhealthy foods, all for that quick hit of dopamine. The net result is time spent NOT in service of your goals.

Human are social creatures. We are hard-wired to seek the approval of those around us (particularly those in authority), and we normalize our behaviors to those around us. We will shape our public speech, fashion, beliefs, and habits in service of being accepted by whatever tribe we find ourselves in. If our work “tribe” is always busy, answers emails and text messages at all hours of the night, says “yes” to any request, etc… so will we.

No one is questioning you or your team’s hustle.

But am I indicting your week to week performance.

Your Goals Rise & Fall on the Weekly Performance

Achieving your annual goals simply comes down to you successfully achieving four quarterly goals.

Achieving your quarterly goals simply comes down to you successfully achieving three monthly goals.

Achieving your monthly goals simply comes down to you successfully performing across four weeks.

Given that, annual goals rise and fall on your week to week performance.

If that’s true (and my 10+ years as a early stage COO verify it is), then we should do everything we can to strengthen our weekly team performance.

If only there was a ridiculously simple cheat code to do just that.

(Dramatic Pause)

Your Ridiculously Simple Cheat Code :: Weekly Calendar Accountability

Returning to the thought that humans are social creatures, you will instantly change behavior with Weekly Calendar Accountability, which requires each team member to do the following:

• Schedule their week out ahead of time, blocking time on their calendar
• Share their calendar publicly with the team
• Explain how their calendar will drive your goals
• Adjust their schedule based on feedback

It’s literally that simple. Try it for a week and see what happens.

Why does this work? The science of accountability is phenomenal:

• Simply knowing ANYBODY is going to look at your calendar increases positive behaviors towards goal achievement by 50%.
• Add in additional support, such as reviewing the calendar and verifying it’s aligned to goals, and you increase the impact from accountability 95%.

Based on the science, if we care about the results we’re chasing, we should be BEGGING each other for accountability.

How to Help Your Team Schedule Their Work Week

If you’re new to planning out your work week ahead of time, it can be a bit daunting. That’s why I created the Time Boss Weekly Operating System Masterclass, a 90 minute hands-on webinar designed to help you get up and running planning out your week to drive performance at work, and help you feel energized and present in the rest of your life. If you’re a self-implementor, this one is for you.

If you’re like me and need coaching and accountability to learn well, the Time Boss 6 Week Coaching Cohort is your guaranteed ticket to change your relationship with time, drive peak performance at work, and help you feel energized and present for the rest of your life. Cohorts launch monthly, with 4 to 6 leaders just like you doing the work to change their relationship with time. Full details are here.