Team Goals with the Corporate Buzzwords

Team goals without the corporate buzzwords. This is what we'll be talking about today on how to lead the podcast for CEOs, founders, and leaders who want the perfect balance of empathy and authority when it comes to leading their people. I'm Kate Waterfall Hill and I'll be sharing some ideas from over 30 years in business and leadership development.

Before we start the show, here's a reminder that if you want to learn how to become a better leader, you can grab a copy of my new Intentional Leadership Guide, grab a copy of my book, How to Lead, or sign up to one of my coaching programs and get my personal support with your leadership challenges, all at waterfallhill.co.uk. So let's kick off with my alter ego, Linda the Bad Manager, and see how she approaches galvanising her team with a new corporate slogan.

“Welcome back to work, everybody. It's the new year. Isn't it exciting? I'm so pleased to welcome you back. Just a quick team meeting to say that we've dreamt up a new expression, a new set of words that will galvanise us for this coming year. So we're all heading in the same direction, feeling a common goal, a shared purpose.

And our new phrase for 2025 is wait for it, wait for it. Do more with less. Isn't it great? And I'm really looking forward to hearing all of your ideas for how we're going to do more with less. And the best idea of each week gets um, what do they get? A bar of chocolate. Um, and the best idea of the week gets a bar of chocolate.

Fantastic. I don't really want a bar of chocolate. I'm on a diet. Can I have something else? An apple. Or an apple. Yeah. Great. Looking forward to seeing all of your contributions in the coming weeks. Do more with less. Let's go team.”

Well, Linda's most viral skits of late. It really got under the skin of the corporate social media world. Linda sure did hit a nerve. So if you've ever had a manager like Linda, you have my deepest sympathies. And if you've ever caught yourself sounding a bit like Linda, don't worry, we've all been there.

It's very tempting to try to rally the troops with some corporate buzzwords, but let's talk about what actually works instead.

When I ask leaders what their team's common goal is, they sometimes respond with something like quarterly targets or KPIs. But you know, nobody's ever leapt out of bed in the morning buzzing with excitement about increasing shareholder value by 2.5%. The truth is, genuine team engagement isn't built on corporate jargon or arbitrary targets.

It's built on something far more fundamental. A shared sense of purpose and achievement. And no, I don't mean those inspirational posters collecting dust in the break room, or lines like Linda's, do more with less. I mean, when do they actually motivate somebody to go above and beyond?

Let's look at a real example that made the headlines. I don't know if you remember, um, Lego was struggling in the early 2000s. There were various reasons, but one of them was that they weren't focusing on their true purpose. Helping children learn through creative play.

Instead, they were chasing trends and diversifying into areas that had nothing to do with their core mission.

When they realigned their entire organisation around that simple, clear purpose, something quite magical actually did happen. Teams became energised because they understood exactly how their work contributed to bringing joy and creativity to children's lives.

Now, I know what you might be thinking, that's very lovely Kate, but I run a paperclip distribution company, not a beloved toy manufacturer, and that's a fair point. But here's the thing. Every business, no matter how seemingly mundane, does have meaningful impact on real people and real lives to some extent.

And your job as leader is to uncover that impact. And make it tangible for your team. So, instead of saying something like, we need to increase efficiency by 15%, perhaps try identifying a more sort of tangible example that people can sort of really get under the skin of. So, perhaps in your paperclip example, we're going to help 100 more small businesses get their essential supplies on time this month so they can focus on serving their customers.

I think there's a good difference there. Here's a suggestion for a practical tool you could try. I call it the Purpose Pipeline. So try spending 15 minutes with each of your team members and ask them these three questions. Who ultimately benefits from your work?

And what would happen if your role didn't exist? And when was the last time you felt truly proud of something you achieved at work? So who's the ultimate beneficiary? What would happen if your role didn't exist? And when did you last feel truly proud? Let's hope you get some good answers for that. They might surprise you.

And they might give you the building blocks for creating a genuine, meaningful, common goal that resonates.

Here's another tool that you could also try called the So What test. Next time you're about to announce a new initiative or target, ask yourself so what three times. So perhaps the initiative is we need to reduce response times. So what? So customers get their answers faster.

So what? So they can solve their problems. And get back to their lives. So what, for the third time? So they can spend more time doing what matters to them, instead of waiting for us to help. Now that's something your team can really get behind.

Let me share some other examples of how real companies have transformed their goals from vague corporate speak into something more meaningful.

I'm sure you're familiar with the company Patagonia, they don't just make outdoor clothing, their website tells me they make goods that are multifunctional, repairable, and timeless.

Because the longer they stay in play, the better it is for the earth. They also don't just say to their teams, increase sustainability metrics. Their goal is this, build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to protect nature. Every employee, from retail to design, to manufacturing, knows exactly how their role contributes to this mission.

Let's look at the hotel group Ritz Carlton. Instead of telling staff to maximise customer satisfaction scores, which they could easily do like any old hotel chain, their goal is, ‘We are ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen.’ This simple phrase has created one of the most engaged service teams in hospitality.

Even in technology, Microsoft shifted from increased market share to empower every person and organisation on the planet to achieve more. Quite a grand statement, but perhaps something that their developers and engineers can actually get excited about when they start their day.

Now let's bring this down to a, an SME level because I know many of you are working in small and mid-sized businesses. So I'm going to share some practical examples now of how you could transform financial targets into more meaningful goals that your team can really get behind.

So say you're an accounting firm, for instance, instead of just saying we need to process more returns, you could inspire your team with something along the lines of helping a hundred local businesses sleep better at night. Think about how that shifts the perspective. You know, suddenly each tax return isn't just paperwork, it's about giving a business owner peace of mind.

Perhaps you're running a family-owned retail shop. Instead of just saying, we need to increase sales by 20%, you could rally your team around helping 500 more families afford quality essentials.

And this might change the focus of the whole team to expanding your budget friendly range while maintaining quality. And you know what? Sometimes sales targets take care of themselves when your team is genuinely invested in this kind of purpose.

Perhaps you're managing a small manufacturing company. Rather than just focusing on reducing production costs, you could inspire your team with a goal like saving 100 local businesses £1,000 each through smarter production. When your team sees how their efficiency improvements directly help other small businesses thrive, those cost reductions tend to follow naturally.

Here's another scenario. You're a leading IT service provider. Instead of fixating on increasing monthly recurring revenue, you can engage your team with helping 50 startups scale safely through better tech. Watch how your team becomes invested in their clients growth stories and see how that naturally leads to strong relationships and better retention.

if you're a marketing agency, instead of increased client billables by 25 percent or even improved campaign metrics, you could say something a bit more personal to the clients. So, helping our clients find their authentic voice and stand out in their community. Or maybe turn a certain number of passionate business owner stories into compelling brand narratives. Help local businesses get discovered by customers who love what they do.

Maybe for account managers, it's ‘be the trusted guide that helps business owners feel confident about their brand's future.’ If you work with larger clients, you might want to frame it as ‘help challenger brands outthink, not outspend their bigger competitors.’ Gives your team a bit of an underdog mission everyone can rally behind.

If your agency is more focused on social impact, perhaps it's ‘connect purpose driven brands with communities who share their values.’ So this helps your team feel that they're part of creating meaningful change, not just chasing metrics.

If someone in your leadership team suggests. Do more with less as a rallying cry. You could propose some less cringeworthy alternatives like, Let's identify what creates the most value for our customers and focus our energies there.

Or, we're going to get really clear on our priorities. What matters most and what can we let go? Or even, let's find smarter ways to work that don't burn out the team. We need to make tough choices about what we stop doing so we can excel at what really matters most. And then lastly, let's challenge our assumptions about how work gets done and find better ways together.

Engagement isn't just about grand gestures or motivational speeches. It's about consistent, intentional communication that connects your team's daily work to real world impact. And please, if you take nothing else from this episode, please retire the phrase, do more with less. Instead, help them do what matters most.

So just to recap, ditch the corporate buzzwords. Connect work to real world impact. Use the purpose pipeline questions with your team. Find out what they think. Apply the so what test.

And focus on what truly matters. This is Kate Waterfall Hill reminding you that great leadership doesn't require a jargon dictionary, just genuine intention and a bit of common sense.

So that's all for this week on this episode of How to Lead. If you've enjoyed it, please do follow for more leadership insights. If you'd like a guide by your side, do go to my website, waterfall hill.co.uk. You can find my free Intentional Leadership guide there. You can also get a copy of my book, which accompanies the podcast, or you can request my personal support in the form of one-to-one coaching or my group mentorship programs.

You can easily book a call via the website. There's never been a better time to take your professional development seriously than right now. I'd be delighted if you could like, leave a review and share with your fellow leaders to help spread the word about how to lead.

Team management doesn't have to be frustrating. You too can enjoy being an authoritative yet empathetic leader. It just takes a decision to be more intentional about your interactions with others. Some great tips for how to influence positive change. And of course, a good guide by your side. Listen more, advise less, lead well.