Why Process > Goals
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The best way to accomplish your goals is to focus on your process.
HOT TAKE: Leaders often focus too much on goals.
Why? Because the best way to accomplish your goals is to focus on your process.
Let me give you an example of how this works:
In 2023, I decided that I needed to get in shape. One way to turn this vision into reality would have been to create a list of outcome-based goals:
“I need to lose 10 pounds and run a marathon by next summer.”
The challenge with outcome-based goals is that it’s harder to stay motivated after we hit our target. Everyone who has lost weight only to put it back on a year later knows the struggle.
Or worse, what happens if we don't achieve our goals? Is it really a failure if I only lost 5 pounds or only ran a 10k?
My breakthrough happened when I stopped targeting goals and focused on building a consistent process.
The process of becoming a healthy person is pretty simple:
Take daily walks
Lift weights
Make healthy eating choices (most of the time)
It’s impossible to do those things every day and not get healthier.
So I developed a process to help me do those three things daily. Over a year later, I’m in the best shape of my life and down 10+ pounds.
Even better, sustaining this success has been relatively easy because the satisfaction comes from completing my daily process, not hitting arbitrary goals.
Finish my morning walk? Success.
Complete a workout at the gym? Crushing it.
Drink my morning smoothie? Rockstar.
The reward comes from doing the work. Any positive outcomes that follow are gravy.
Here’s how this works for your church:
Want to see your attendance grow?
Instead of setting a 10% growth goal for the year ahead, identify the key actions that are bringing new people to your church. Then create a process that helps you do more of those things.
Need to recruit more volunteers?
Instead of setting a goal of adding 20 new volunteers, determine which actions have proven effective to increase volunteer engagement. Then develop a process that compels you to take those actions repeatedly and you’ll soon get your 20 volunteers (and more!).
If you can’t identify a process that’s been successful at adding people or volunteers, then start experimenting with different processes to see which new methods might be effective. Then do those!
But the key is to focus on the process.
Identify which actions lead to the success you want to achieve.
Develop a process to complete those actions consistently.
Keep people accountable for executing the process.
Review the results and keep refining the process.
The best way to accomplish your goals is to focus on your process.
