Your team is focused on short-term gains. How can you steer them towards long-term success?

From my experience, the WHY is the long-term strategy, whereas the HOW is the short-term tactics. Understanding the WHY behind anything you take on is crucial. The WHY should rarely change, but the HOW can be adjusted regularly for a particular set of circumstances. The WHY can not only be inspiring, but it will likely also provide the North Star when you are faced with making difficult decisions around prioritizing the use of resources. For these reasons, a team that understands the WHY will almost always perform better over a longer period of time because it can adjust and adapt faster without losing its direction.

To guide your team towards long-term success, start by making clear long-term goals that match the company’s main aims. Talk about these goals often in your team meetings to keep everyone focused on them. Encourage your team to come up with new ideas and to think ahead about future challenges and chances. This way, you can help shift their focus from just looking at immediate results to thinking about the bigger picture.

As a leader, it is your job to set the vision and priorities and ensure the focus is on the long-term goal. Short-term wins build momentum, and they are important - but only if they are driving towards the end goal.

well... you could start with setting up long term goals and a clear vision. That usually helps. more characters because of LinkedIn requirements.

Starting with an honest “As-Is” assessment helps understand why employees focus on short-term goals. Key reasons include immediate leadership pressure to hit targets, a desire for instant gratification, and a lack of clarity around long-term vision. Misaligned incentive structures often reward quick wins, creating a “Cobra Effect.” A reactive work environment, overemphasis on performance metrics, and high workloads leave little room for strategic thinking. People also avoid long-term goals due to fear of failure as Long-term goals often involve greater uncertainty and risk, while pursuing short-term goals feel safer and more manageable. Shifting focus requires clear Vision, balanced incentives, and a culture that encourages risk-taking.

Vision also requires Inspiration. Cast a future view on what their life or the life of the customer looks like in 3 years. Help them connect the dots. Vision has to have an emotional impact as well as rational to take hold.

An exercise I used to do with my team was the: "The headline in the newspaper" - I would ask them to think and craft the headline and first paragraph of this company/ team's achievements in 1/2/3 years from now. Putting it in "fancy" writing helped craft the message while thinking strategy - TOGETHER. The most important part is to do it together as a team

Communicate the Bigger Picture: Share stories and examples of how our work today contributes to larger goals. When team members understand the "why," their motivation shifts from just hitting numbers to building something significant. Incorporate Short-Term Wins into the Vision: Align short-term objectives with the long-term vision. Highlight how achieving these smaller goals is a stepping stone towards our ultimate aspirations. Foster a Culture of Innovation: Encourage your team to think creatively about solving problems. Lead by Example: Our commitment to long-term thinking will inspire our teams to look beyond immediate gains and invest in their growth and the organization's future.

I’m a big proponent of Roger L. Martin’s Playing to win framework, which in brief presents strategy as a set of critical choices. Chief among these are for the business to define its winning ambition, establish where it will play in available markets, and state how it will win vs. competitors. By definition this a long-term focus. While quick wins can be valuable for a team or department to build credibility, without this type of perspective, those wins are tactical, and likely not sustainable. If a company is reluctant to engage in this approach, a team leader can and should repeatedly ask these fundamental questions in any strategy discussions. In all likelihood, this will drive a substantive discussion to find those answers.

At COSMO CONSULT my team uses the OKR (Objectives and Key Results) framework to align departmental goals and key results with the business strategy, always keeping in mind our visionary target picture while working on more short to medium term goals and results. These goals should be challenging yet achievable to motivate your employees and stakeholders and provide a clear roadmap for your team to follow. Importantly, the goals should be measurable and progress visible to the entire organization. These cascading OKRs can serve as milestones along the change process to achieve the company vision, and your employees can see how their daily efforts contribute to the company's success.

Balancing short-term wins with long-term vision is key. Set cascading OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) that link immediate targets to future aspirations. Leverage AI tools to model various scenarios, helping your team visualize the long-term impact of their current efforts. This approach not only motivates but also cultivates strategic thinking at all levels.

Now we are talking. Goals. Critical. Define them by their tenures (long term/short term) and the trade-offs involved for each. Define and drum it in only if you believe in them yourself. Review. Adjust. Redefine

Além de toda a estruturação e definições estratégicas, para que possamos alcançá-las é fundamental termos metas claras, mensuráveis e atingíveis. A utilização de metodologias como OKR's, por exemplo, que possa nortear as atividades e atingimentos dos times. Desta forma, atraindo todo o time atuante na busca pelas metas, compondo a geração de valor estratégica.

As they say they way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time and this is something that can be directly applied to goal setting. While the final vision may look light years ahead the short term goals will ensure the team is on board every step of the way.

A good strategy stands on an A4 paper. To develop an effective strategy, you must make clear, deliberate choices. Start by defining the "game" you re playing—this includes your value proposition and the boundaries within which you will operate. Once defined, assess your strategic capabilities—these are the unique strengths that position you to win within your chosen game. These capabilities will guide your decisions and help you navigate uncertainty. If you're unsure about winning due to your capabilities, you might want to re-evaluate whether you are in the right game. Should your focus be on expanding your capabilities, ensure that your strategy reflects this ambition, but remain mindful of your current strengths and limitations.

Implement an "algorithmic strategy canvas" - a dynamic, analytics-powered tool that continuously aligns daily activities with long-term objectives. This approach combines real-time data analysis with strategic foresight, enabling teams to adapt swiftly while staying true to overarching goals. It's not just about planning for the future; it's about creating it.

Cada execução/negócio pode ter como necessidade uma estratégia diferente da situação anterior. Mais do que a estratégia, o tempo de antecipação para a atuação são fundamentais, possibilitando o desenvolvimento criativo e potencial oxigenação de fornecedores, com mais flexibilidade de criação de soluções. Este pode ser o segredo do sucesso na celebração de grandes negócios.

At this point while developing the strategy is important however, developing a culture to allow that strategy to thrive is more important.

It is necessary to educate the team on continuous basis about the pitfalls of looking at short term goals & benefits which are temporary. I do this by giving examples of how looking at short term remedies can bring not so good results. Example- Negotiating with a potential customer and explore how to build long term relationship and turn him into your valued partner.

Não basta projetar, negociar e alcançar os maiores sucessos teóricos. É preciso colocá-los em prática, e garantir a sua implantação. O devido acompanhamento das implantações junto à área de excelência operacional, e o cumprimento das obrigações enquanto "change management" são fatores críticos e chaves de sucesso, tornando possível não só o atingimento, mas a materialização de todo o sucesso programado.

I jumped all the way to "implement change" because there was no "box" for - your team thinks short-term because they were a) allowed to and b) taught to. Good news? You've spotted it, so now you can fix it. Start with owning it. Straight up: "Here's where we went wrong, and here's why we need to change." They need to "get the why" to buy in to changing behavior. Next - Create a template used for every meeting until new habits are formed for when anyone (yep, you too) drifts back to old habits: Q's Like - "How will this solve impact us at this table a year from now?" Create your own questions, but make them count. Then hold everyone - starting with yourself - accountable. Small shifts, huge impact. Embraced as a Team.

Implementa el cambio gradualmente para que el equipo se adapte a la nueva mentalidad. Introduce nuevas métricas de éxito que valoren tanto los logros a corto como a largo plazo, y ajusta los incentivos para reflejar esta nueva estrategia. En mi experiencia, cambié las recompensas de mi equipo para incluir bonos basados en logros de innovación y crecimiento sostenible, lo que ayudó a cambiar su enfoque hacia el largo plazo.

Implementing change successfully requires a balance of Charismatic Leadership, like Ronald Reagan, and Laissez-Faire Leadership, as represented by Adam Smith. As a Charismatic Leader, you inspire your team with personal charm and emotional connection, motivating them to embrace the new direction. Your ability to energize and connect with the team builds strong bonds during the transition. Simultaneously, a Laissez-Faire approach allows your team autonomy and creativity in how they implement these changes, fostering innovation and self-driven adaptation within the new framework.

Foster a culture of patience and persistence*: Encourage the team to embrace a long-term mindset, understanding that lasting success takes time.