93% of employees can't align their personal goals with company objectives—because most goal-setting is one-directional garbage. This episode shows you how to create SMART goals using the two-way framework that balances corporate priorities with what your team actually wants to develop.

What You'll Learn:

• Why SMART goals remove ambiguity and prevent performance review conflicts
• How to cascade corporate goals using the trickle-down effect (not copy/paste)
• The two types of personal development goals your team actually wants
• How to find the overlap between business needs and employee growth
• Why writing goals together (not for them) creates ownership and buy-in

Key Stats:

• 93% of workers say lack of clarity on company goals prevents them from aligning their personal goals (Passive Secrets, 2025)
• Employees are 3.2x more likely to be engaged when goals align with organizational objectives (Gartner, 2024)
• 94% of employees would stay longer if the company invested in their career development (LinkedIn Learning, 2023)
• Employees whose goals align with company objectives are 8.9x more likely to think their jobs are important (Leadership IQ)
• Employees with goals are 3.6x more committed to their organization and 6.5x more likely to recommend it as a great workplace (Leadership IQ)

Questions I'll address:

• How do I make sure goals are specific enough to be actionable?
• How do I cascade department goals down to individual team members?
• What's the difference between career advancement goals and personal development goals?
• How do I have the two-way goal conversation without it feeling forced?
• How many goals should each employee have?

Part of the Year-End Leadership Survival Guide - 4 episodes to finish 2025 strong

Perfect for: Middle managers setting 2026 goals who want to create objectives their team actually cares about achieving

Need help building a goal-setting framework that drives real performance? Colby works with leaders and teams through keynote speaking, executive coaching, and leadership training.

📧 linkedin.com/in/colbymorris | 🌐 nxtstepadvisors.com

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#TheThingsLeadersDo #GoalSetting #SMARTGoals #LeadershipDevelopment #MiddleManagement #CareerDevelopment #EmployeeEngagement #PerformanceManagement

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