A Fresh Approach to Annual Goals and Leading in Q1

The annual goals arrive, you dutifully cascade them to your team, create a tracking spreadsheet… and then somehow find yourself in March wondering why things aren’t progressing as planned. Ring any bells? Whether you’re new to this or looking to refresh your approach, this blog can help.

Rethinking Your Approach to Annual Goals

The standard approach to annual goals often feels like checking boxes: receive objectives, create a plan, and distribute tasks. But there’s a better way…

Instead of viewing Q1 as a planning exercise, think of it as an opportunity to build a team that drives success all year. Start by tossing that standard planning template in the recycling bin. Your first step should be creating specific quarterly milestones that feed into your company’s annual goals.

Your Milestone Checklist:

Set clear, measurable goals, including defined metrics
Ensure goals are achievable within the next 3 months
Align each milestone directly to annual objectives
Build on existing team strengths and capabilities
Make goals visible and meaningful to all stakeholders

Here’s what this looks like in practice: Instead of a Q1 milestone to “improve the month-end close process,” structure it as “reduce month-end close from 10 to 7 days by streamlining reconciliation processes for our top 3 revenue streams.”

The first leaves room for minimal action, while the second drives specific outcomes and makes progress measurable. When your team sees this clear target, they can immediately identify which processes need attention and how their daily work contributes to the bigger goal. For instance, your AR team might focus on sending client invoices three days earlier while your reconciliation team prioritizes automating their most time-consuming checks.

Creating a Strong Rhythm

Success in Q1 relies on establishing a consistent cadence that keeps goals alive and meaningful. Begin with thoroughly reviewing your team’s capacity and current workload distribution. Make it a point to understand where their energy and attention are focused.

Your Check-in Framework:

Hold weekly meetings to review progress on goals, ensure deadlines are being met, offer help if roadblocks come up, and plan next week’s priorities. Use red/yellow/green indicators for status updates. (30 minutes)
Plan monthly goal conversations that go beyond status checks (60 minutes)
Conduct quarterly recaps for learning and adjustment (45 minutes)

These check-ins sound straightforward, right? But here’s the real challenge: keeping them meaningful. Without careful attention, they can quickly become routine status updates that don’t drive progress. The key is to transform each touchpoint into an opportunity for deeper engagement.

Start weekly meetings with “What decisions need to be made today?” instead of “What’s the status?” Create an environment where your team feels safe showing yellow status early – it’s a sign they’re thinking ahead and spotting challenges before they become problems.

Conversation Starters:

“What’s surprising us about this goal?”
“What are we learning that might change our approach?”

When you consistently engage with your team at this level, the impact is clear: You uncover insights that traditional status meetings would miss, and your team begins to see these check-ins as valuable strategy sessions – not just another administrative task.

Developing Your Team While Delivering Results

Your role as a leader is to track goals, but it’s also about building a high-performing team that makes achieving those goals possible. Start Q1 with a thoughtful assessment of your team’s skills and development needs.

Growth Opportunities:

Leverage current strengths to accelerate progress
Align development needs with strategic goals
Implement cross-training to build versatility
Create opportunities for stretch assignments
Identify process improvements to remove obstacles

When assigning ownership of strategic objectives, move beyond simple task delegation. Create clear ownership for each component of your quarterly goals, but also set the tone that asking for help is a sign of strength, not weakness.

Navigating Cross-Functional Relationships

Here’s where many Q1 plans hit their first snag: working with other teams. Although you might have your team’s plans organized, success can often depend on people outside your direct control.

Our advice? Don’t wait for formal meetings to build these relationships. Start connecting with your peer managers over coffee early in Q1.

Building Strong Partnerships:

Schedule coffee chats with key stakeholders (30 minutes)
Maintain a simple tracker for shared deadlines and dependencies
Establish clear paths for raising and resolving challenges
Plan monthly sessions for joint initiatives (90 minutes monthly)
Provide regular updates to keep everyone aligned

When you build these connections early, you’ll spot potential issues before they become problems. Plus, if unexpected challenges pop up, you’ll already have the relationships in place to handle them smoothly.

Turning Inevitable Changes into Opportunities

Speaking of unexpected challenges… We’re going to let you in on a little secret that many experienced leaders know but rarely discuss: Your Q1 plan may change, and that’s okay.

So, how do you make this work in practice?

What sets good leaders apart from great leaders isn’t having the perfect plan; it’s knowing how to adapt while keeping your team’s momentum going.

This is where monthly retrospectives prove invaluable. Use these sessions to openly discuss what’s working, what isn’t, and how to adjust course while staying focused on your goals. When changes are needed, turn them into learning opportunities for your team. Instead of simply announcing updates from the top, bring your team into the conversation. Help them understand the ‘why’ behind adjustments and involve them in figuring out the ‘how.’

You’ll discover that many people aren’t resistant to change – they just want to understand where they’re headed and have a say in how to get there.

Your Action Plan for Q1

Ready to put this into practice? Start here:

Schedule an hour this week to reflect on your annual goals through the lens of your team’s strengths and interests (60 minutes initially, then 30 minutes weekly)
Set up a simple tracking system that encourages conversation, not just status updates (2-3 hours upfront investment)
Plan your first few team discussions to focus on meaningful progress, not just metrics (90 minutes for the first session)
Identify one peer manager you can connect with regularly about shared goals (30 minutes bi-weekly)
Schedule your first monthly retrospective now – don’t wait until issues arise (60 minutes)

Looking Forward

Your success as a leader comes from building systems that keep goals alive and meaningful throughout the quarter. As you move forward, remember that every senior leader started exactly where you are now.

Take that first step today – your team is ready for a fresh approach to Q1.