Management Best Practices - Professional Goal Setting

About This Episode
In the second episode of the Management Best Practices series Craig Hill interviews Marcus Dudley, a program manager at Kleinfeld. They discuss effective goal-setting strategies for managers and employees. Dudley emphasizes the importance of "stretch goals" that push individuals outside their comfort zones, promoting growth. He differentiates between long-term career goals and short-term performance goals, suggesting the latter can serve the former. The discussion covers various goal-setting frameworks (SMART, HARD), highlighting the need for measurable, time-bound goals with regular check-ins and manager facilitation, but ultimately emphasizing employee self-motivation and ownership. Finally, Dudley addresses adapting goals based on changing circumstances and individual needs.

Series Summary
Becoming a manager or supervisor is an important step in many people’s professional careers, and it introduces a set of new responsibilities that they may not have had in their prior role. The Management Best Practices series highlights a handful of those responsibilities, the challenges that can go along with them, and best practices for navigating through them. The episodes in this series will provide valuable advice for new as well as seasoned managers or supervisors.

Our Host
Craig Hill – Environmental Project Manager/Kleinfelder. Craig has 24 years of experience in the environmental field as both a regulator and consultant. During that time he has managed a number of staff at various levels in their careers.

About Our Guest
Marcus Dudley – Senior Project Manager/Kleinfelder. Marcus Dudley is a program manager at Kleinfelder with 20 years of experience in consulting and managing employees. He is passionate about effective goal setting and is considered a champion of the topic. He has mentored employees at all career stages in the goal-setting process.

Lessons Learned:

• Introduction and Defining Goals
• Distinguishing Between Career Goals and Performance Goals
• The Manager's Role in Facilitating Goal Setting
• Nurturing Goal Adherence in New Staff Members
• Clarifying Accountability for Goal Achievement
• Exploring Goal-Setting Schemes and Their Significance
• The Importance of Flexibility and Adaptability in Goal Setting
• Addressing Challenges in Goal Setting: Inexperienced and Disengaged Employees
• Navigating Inappropriate Goal Submissions
• Conclusion and Recommended Resources

Calls-to-action:

• Visit the GBA Website at https://www.geoprofessional.org for other training resources and reference materials and/or to become a member.
• Visit https://www.gbapodcast.com for future Podcast Episodes
• Contact us at info@geoprofessional.org with any podcast-related questions or comments

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This episode was produced by the following GBA Members:

• Criag Hill – Environmental Project Manager/Kleinfelder
• Ryan White, PE, GE – Principal Geotechnical Engineer/PBS Engineering and Environmental LLC