Goal Planning from a Global Perspective: Aligning Teams and Respecting the Work
When you’re leading cross-functional, global teams—whether it’s R&D, regulatory, product, or operations—goal planning isn’t just about setting high-level objectives. It’s about bringing together diverse teams, respecting those who do the work, and ensuring that goals are actionable, measurable, and in sync with strategic milestones. With experience in goal planning efforts across different organizations, including:
🔹 Aligning a lab team with strategic leadership and hospital administration, which required a deep understanding of operational realities, relationship building, and translating strategy into practical goals.
🔹 Bridging development teams with global operations, ensuring that product development timelines, regulatory submissions, and operational readiness were aligned across multiple regions.
These experiences taught us a few key lessons on how to plan goals that respect both the people doing the work and those tracking progress:
1. Build Cross-Functional Alignment by Splitting Large Goals Across Teams
Big strategic goals, like product launches or regulatory submissions, rarely belong to one team alone. The key to successful alignment is breaking large goals into smaller, function-specific objectives that contribute to the overall milestone. For example, if the goal is a global product launch, break it down as:
Development Team: Ensure prototypes meet requirements by X date.
Regulatory Team: Submit required packages to health authorities by Y date.
Marketing Team: Have business plans for key markets finalized by Z date.
Operations Team: Ensure logistics and distribution plans are in place by Q date.
This way, each team has clear ownership of their part in achieving the big-picture goal, fostering accountability without overwhelming any single function.
2. Ensure Function Heads Engage Early and Maintain Visibility
Cross-functional goals—especially global-reaching ones—require early engagement and proactive relationship management. Function heads play a critical role in ensuring goals are aligned across departments, and that key stakeholders are brought in early to build a shared understanding of priorities and expectations. Encouraging early alignment ensures that:
- Stakeholders are engaged before decisions are made, reducing friction later.
- Teams have the necessary visibility into upcoming dependencies and timelines.
- Leadership is involved at key decision points to remove barriers and drive progress.
Function heads should prioritize ongoing relationship management—not just during goal-setting, but throughout the execution phase—to maintain alignment, foster trust, and ensure goals stay on track.
3. Make Goals Actionable and Ensure Leadership Alignment When Needed
Respecting those who execute also means knowing when leadership is needed to drive progress. Not every goal can or should be executed independently—some require leadership alignment to remove roadblocks, secure approvals, or provide resources. Clearly identify when leadership involvement is required and schedule these checkpoints as part of the goal plan. This keeps momentum high and ensures alignment at the right time.
4. Engage Those Who Track and Measure Progress
Don’t overlook the importance of those who manage the process—program managers, PMOs, or operational leads. These individuals play a critical role in ensuring that progress is tracked and communicated effectively. Involving them early helps prevent last-minute surprises and ensures that reporting aligns with what leadership expects. When goals are aligned across functions and progress is well-tracked, teams can course-correct faster and stay on target.
5. Be Flexible While Staying Focused
Respecting regional and functional differences is key in global goal planning. While strategy should be consistent, execution might need flexibility. Encourage teams to adapt goals to local realities—but keep everyone aligned on the ultimate outcome.
Goal planning can be complex, especially when you’re working across regions, functions, and leadership levels. How do you ensure early engagement, visibility, and alignment in your organization’s goal-setting process? We'd love to hear how you approach cross-functional or global goals!
Reach out to info@kovacobiomedical.com should you or your team need assistance in aligning on your global strategies or wish to partner or collaborate on an innovative solution.
#GoalSetting #CrossFunctionalAlignment #GlobalLeadership #RelationshipManagement #StrategicPlanning #TeamSuccess #KovacoBiomedical
Written By: Cheryl Koval, Founder (Kovaco Biomedical Consulting Inc.)
Published: January 23rd, 2025