Work with a focus on results: Have your success firmly in sight

Reading time 7 minutes
Work with a focus on results: Have your success firmly in sight

"Results, we need results!" Well, how many times have you heard that from your superiors? Sure, no success without results. After all, they speak the clearest language. Or has anyone ever won an award because they put in the most effort, but still didn't come up with any results? No, that's just it. But how exactly does one work in a results-oriented manner? And what is the difference to goal-oriented action? Questions upon questions and we have the answers!

What does results-oriented mean?

You've probably noticed that countless job ads talk about "working in a results-oriented manner". We're looking for doers who stay focused and like to get their hands dirty - even figuratively. A "hands-on mentality" is in demand.

Basically, all this means nothing other than the targeted pursuit of clearly defined results. You remove all obstacles that are put in your way and help yourself to all resources that you need for this.

What skills does a results-oriented person possess?

A result-oriented person displays various characteristics and has certain skills that help him or her reach the goal. What are they? You can read about it here!

Formulate results clearly

Anyone who wants to act in a results-oriented manner must, of course, first know what the result is supposed to look like in the first place. A results-oriented person is able to define expectations very clearly, and in a way that everyone can understand.

Results-oriented: setting realistic benchmarks

Result-oriented action is only possible if the result is actually achievable. It must be realistic. As a results-oriented person, you can accurately assess who can actually complete which tasks in which timeframe. If expectations are not met, you intervene in good time, address the problems and sort them out.

Anticipate future requirements

Of course, no one can see into the future. However, result-oriented people can estimate quite well which requirements the future will bring. Accordingly, they can estimate which resources will be necessary and precisely plan each individual step on the way to the result.

Thoughtful use of resources

As a result-oriented person, you know exactly which resources are necessary to reach your goal. You can also easily find out how to obtain them. Then it's a matter of planning how exactly you will use them in the best case. And that, too, is no problem at all for you.

Recognize needs

Needs can be recognized by success-oriented people on various levels. First of all, of course, it is crucial to identify the concrete needs that must be satisfied in order to actually speak of success. Then it is a question of which requirements all those involved have to meet in order to be on the path to success. As a result-oriented person, you are aware of all these and take them into account.

Results-oriented: giving compact feedback

You will only be successful if you carefully observe all processes and quickly gain compact Feedback give. This feedback is important to keep adjusting the path to the goal and to never lose sight of success.

Protection against overload

People who are result-oriented are often described as workaholics who never find an end and are permanently under power. But this is not the case at all, and it does not lead anywhere. A healthy balance of stress and relief is required, and result-oriented people have the knack here too. This is how they protect themselves from overload.

result-oriented management

Results-oriented work: How does it work?

The first step in results-oriented work is the optimization of processes. You design the structures in such a way that the desired goal can also be achieved effectively. This requires strategic thinking.

It's important that you don't get bogged down in the general day-to-day business, but that you clearly define the goals and delegate tasks accordingly. In doing so, you always keep your eyes open to keep an eye on all processes and to be able to intervene immediately should there be a problem. This ensures that you reach your goal as quickly and effectively as possible.

What is results-oriented leadership?

As a results-oriented leader, you give your team the freedom they need to achieve the goal. You give them a lot of trust, because you give them the opportunity to achieve the result in their own way. Your employees are responsible for their own work and allocate their time and other resources independently. They also communicate with each other on their own. Whether you bind them to fixed core working hours or give them full time flexibility through home office and online meetings is up to you.

A results-oriented way of working therefore focuses entirely on the result itself. The way to achieve this is flexible and your employees have a fairly free hand. By the way, this also has a positive effect on their Satisfaction out. You show them how much trust you have in them and that motivates.

This is how results-oriented leadership works

The focus is entirely on the concrete result. Your will to achieve it and your ability to work with your team to get there are the basic building blocks you need to turn results orientation into tangible success.

You divide the path to this goal into different stages by defining intermediate goals. At regular intervals, you check whether you and your team have achieved them and adjust them if necessary. Nevertheless, you will maintain a high degree of flexibility and Personal responsibility for your employees. The focus is always on the success parameters. They define how success is measured and help your team to focus its energy.

It is important that your employees contact you as soon as they realize that they will miss the target. That way, you can consult in time and come up with a strategy to turn things around before it's too late. Transparency is a top priority in results-based work. Your team needs to be able to talk to you very openly, and you also need to communicate very clearly what you expect from them so that you can achieve the desired outcome.

Why is results orientation important?

Mostly, only the resources available and what can be achieved with them are taken into account. The focus is therefore on the process. The result itself takes second place. With a results-oriented way of working, things are different. Here, the main focus is on the output, not the input.

When you focus on the results you want to achieve, you choose your resources carefully so that you really get there. You focus only on what is really important and leave secondary tasks to the left. Without these distractions, you'll make much faster progress and work much more efficiently and effectively.

What is the difference between a goal and an outcome?

The terms "goal" and "result" are often used as synonyms, but strictly speaking this is not correct. A goal is something you consciously direct your actions towards. It is something you want to achieve but have not yet realized. A result, on the other hand, is the consequence of your actions. It is already real and measurable. So once you have achieved a goal by completing certain tasks, it turns into a result.

But this achievement may have taken place only in your mind, and the goal becomes the result, even if it has not actually been realized yet. That sounds confusing? Let's look at an example. Imagine a soccer game is coming up. Your coach says, "We're going to win!" With that, he defines the goal. But if he says, "We won!" before the game has even started, he is defining a result. Logically, of course, this makes no sense at all, but psychologically it does.

Mentally, you have already completed the action and can imagine a future reality in your head. You feel like the winner of the soccer game, hear the cheers of the spectators and see the beaming faces of your team. You're already mentally celebrating, enjoying the post-game victory party and being congratulated by your friends and family. If that's not motivating, what is?

However, results orientation by no means has anything to do with daydreaming. Rather, it is about focusing on achieving the desired results and less on all the trappings.

Result-oriented: How do goal orientation and outcome orientation differ?

In terms of pure content, there is not much difference between goal orientation and result orientation. Rather, it is the effect that differs. In your mind, if you are goal-oriented, the road is still ahead of you because your coach says, "We are going to win." If, on the other hand, he says, "We are the winners," you have already traveled the road measured by the wording and are thinking only of the result - victory. And that's the much more attractive thought, isn't it?

Success-oriented thinking and acting is in people's blood. If we look back in history, the idea usually came first. A certain need had to be satisfied and for this, man had to deliver a certain result. This was the only thing he oriented himself to and thus found appropriate solutions.

You can imagine the orientation to the result like a kind of suction. Due to the intensive visualization of the result, you also align yourself with it again and again, because you are mentally firmly connected with it. Even if you encounter obstacles, thanks to this connectedness, they can't turn you away from your path. The adjustment of the path takes place almost automatically, because you are mentally and emotionally attracted to the result.

In summary, the focus of results-oriented action and work is not on the path, but on its end. It is based on a strong motivational character, because mentally you have already achieved the result. Thinking about the moment when you have finally achieved it helps you to stay on the ball and always find the most effective way.

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Reviewed by Dr. med. Stefan Frädrich

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