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7. People not committed? Set stretch goals and stay involved. High expectations are great. But if
goals are perceived as unachievable, people become skeptical and discouraged. They give up and
performance lags. Or, if goals are too low, boredom sets in and performance lags. People lose
interest and end up underperforming. Setting stretching but achievable goals shows confidence. It
creates optimism and an expectation for success. But don’t just set goals. Ask what is needed to get
there. Get the resources and support you need—and set checkpoints along the way to measure
progress. Give yourself and others as much feedback as you can. Get buy-in. Recognize
improvement. Celebrate success. Then agree on next steps to even higher performance.

8. Group not performing? Address team dynamics. Leading a stalled project? In danger of missing
the goal? Delivering subpar performance? Every group and team is made up of individuals. Some
who may be giving more than others. Some who may be willing but struggling. Some may have
“checked out” for reasons of their own. If this is happening, assess the team as a whole. Does it have
an agreed-upon goal? The right mix of skills? The resources it needs? Adequate support from the
organization? Make the changes you need to make to ensure results are achieved. Look at
individuals. Do you need to switch out some team members or bring in new skills? Encourage
different working relationships? Stimulate new collaborations? Address conflict? Figure out what’s not
working and make it right. Ask HR for help or bring in a team consultant if you are really stumped.

9. Getting resistance? Deal with objections. It’s your job to drive a major change initiative. You’ve got
your resources, your time line, your plans. Everything looks good. Until a key group or person raises
objections. Why are we doing this? What will this cost? Why are we changing what we’ve done for 20
years? The best change leaders don’t get derailed by pushback. They anticipate resistance. They are
equipped to handle the heat of controversy. They allow time to hear objections. Individual meetings.
Town halls. Phone conferences. They answer objections and make course corrections. But they don’t
lose sight of the endgame. The vision. The results. Encourage more objections. If you sense people
are holding back, get concerns out on the table. Ask for specifics. Dig deep. Get to the root of the
resistance. Understand what’s behind the dissent. See it from their point of view. If you were in their
shoes, what would you need to hear to be converted?

Want to learn more? Take a deep dive…

Gleeson, B. (2012, December 28). Setting stretch goals: All in, all the time. Inc.
Hill, L., & Lineback, K. (2012, April 3). Good managers lead through a team. Harvard Business
Review Blog Network.
Russell, N. S. (2013, February 8). Six ways to get things done when you’re not the boss. Forbes.

Sevier, R. A. (2006, September). Moving a team forward. University Business.

10. Derailed by the unexpected? Define and address the problem. You’re working hard, focused on
getting things done. Then something unexpected happens. A system glitch destroys last night’s work.
An important meeting gets cancelled. Maybe you get stuck in traffic and arrive at the office two hours
late. When you are thrown off track by the unexpected, you have two choices. You can either tense
up, throw up your hands, snap at a few coworkers, and generally make the situation worse, or you
can take a breath, stay calm, and find a way around or through the situation. Pick up the phone, get

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