What do you think of when you hear about setting goals? Many think of resolutions, especially this time of year, but goals are much more than that! Resolutions don’t stick, but goals do. We also think of goals as a personal thing. We think about setting goals as an individual, but not for our ministries.      

Setting organizational goals may be a foreign concept to you, and it may be a little uncomfortable. However, it’s well worth the discomfort! Setting goals is often the only difference between those who reach them and those who don’t. If you’re new to setting goals, here are five reasons your team needs goals this year.    

5 Reasons Your Team Needs Goals This Year

1) Goals Clarify the WIN

Here’s the deal, it’s hard to win if you don’t know what a win looks like. When I ask leaders what a win is for their team members, many look at me with blank stares. If we don’t know what the win is for our team members, neither do they!
 
In leadership, clarity is kindness. Clarity of what you want and expect is one of the best gifts you can give to your team. Clarity isn’t just a kindness for those you lead, it’s also kindness for your own self! The best way to win in ministry is to clarify the win and pursue it relentlessly.
 
Setting goals helps to clarify the win. When you boil down everything your youth ministry will do in the next year to 3-5 things, it clarifies what’s most important. Written goals clarify the path for you and the entire team.

2) Goals Push to Performance

Good goals are a little scary because they stretch you. While they excite you on one hand, they are a little uncomfortable on the other. A new year’s resolution to lose weight will mean less than a goal to lose 20lbs in 12 months. The first is easy to hope for while putting off making practical changes. The second will push you to get in gear! It won’t happen by accident, so you know performance is required for progress.
 
We all have a few things we’ve been wanting to do. You may have wanted to do some of them for years. So why haven’t you done them?
 
If you’re anything like me, it’s because you never set a written goal to get there. Putting a goal on paper with a deadline changes it from a hope to something you are pursuing.
 

3) Goals Provide Accountability

Written goals bring accountability with them. Why? Because once you put a goal on paper, the people around you can hold your feet to the fire! When your team knows what you care about most, they can care about it with you!
 
You see, you can’t hide from a clear goal set in ink. Good goals don’t just give you an end in mind, they give you a measurable path to get there! They make progress clear to an outside perspective, and you can’t hide from progress or lack there of. Good goals bring accountability with them, and accountability is always a good thing.

4) Goals Require a Plan

If you’re going to reach your goals, it’s going to require a plan. Losing 20 pounds will require a plan to exercise, eat less calories, or take out a second job to pay for liposuction. In the same way, growing your organization by 10% will require a plan to do something different. If you don’t do something different, you can’t expect different results!
 
Putting stretch goals on paper always requires a plan on paper to go with them. What are the tactics you will need to reach the goals you have set? The answer to this question is the beginning of your action plan for the year.

5) Goals Galvanize and Synergize Your Team

Setting goals is one of the best ways to get your team on the same page. As a leader, I eat, breathe, and sleep my business. My team members have families and dreams of their own though. And it can be hard to get everyone focused in one direction and working as a team.
 
Setting goals will help everyone realize what 3-5 things are most important for the next 365 days. Anything outside of these things is extra, but not the primary goal. When your team knows the direction you’re heading and that everyone is pulling in the same direction together, it will energize them to serve at a whole new level!

  These are great reasons for organizational goals this year, but let me give you a bonus. It will put you ahead of 99% of teams. Nothing else you will do can offer that kind of return!
 
     Only about 1% of people have written goals. The number is probably less for teams. This means that by simply having written goals, you put yourself in the 99th percentile! I believe it’s a way for you and your team to have your best year yet.
 
     So what will your goals be for this year? Will you take the plunge? Don’t forget to subscribe below. Happy New year, and here’s to your best year yet!