Clear Goals, Better Teams: Unlocking the ‘F’ in FLOWS™

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Team collaborating to set clear goals on a whiteboard with sticky notes.

By Jenna McCaffery | Director of Innovation & Innovation

Struggling with missed deadlines or projects that never seem to stay on track? For neurodivergent individuals, like those with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), who thrive on clarity and structure, unclear goals can make productivity feel out of reach.

If you’ve ever heard “What’s the priority here?” or “I wasn’t sure what you meant,” this post is for you. Today we’re revisiting the F in our FLOWS™ framework: Focus on Clear Goals. Because when everyone knows exactly what needs to happen, work stops feeling like a guessing game.

How Clear Goals Work for Neurodivergent Brains

Neurodivergent individuals often experience challenges like:

  • Time blindness (ADHD): A difficulty in perceiving and prioritizing time. Tasks feel like they’re either due right now or somewhere in the nebulous “future” (which might as well be never).
  • Executive functioning struggles (ADHD and ASD): Issues with planning, prioritizing, and initiating tasks. Starting a big project without clear steps can feel like standing at the base of a mountain without a map.
  • Cognitive overload (ASD): Too much vague or unstructured information can overwhelm the brain, leading to shutdowns or reduced efficiency.

Clear, specific goals provide direction and set expectations.

The Four Steps to Focusing Goals

  1. Be Painfully Specific
    • What It Means: Forget vague tasks like “Work on the campaign.” Get granular. Say, “Draft three social media posts for Product X by Thursday.”
    • Workplace Example: Instead “Organize the event,” try, “Book the venue by Friday, confirm the caterer by next Monday, and send invites by the 15th.”
    • Why It Helps: Time blindness turns vague goals into insurmountable obstacles for individuals with ADHD. For those with ASD, specificity provides much-needed clarity and reduces cognitive strain.
  2. Break Big Projects into Small Steps
    • What It Means: Take the mountain and turn it into manageable hills. Instead of “Launch the product,” create milestones like:
      • Finish user feedback research by Friday.
      • Complete final product designs by next week.
      • Set up team launch meeting by end of the month.
    • Workplace Example: A large project like website redesign becomes:
      • “Choose a layout by Wednesday.”
      • “Upload final content by Friday.”
      • Conduct testing next week.”
    • Why It Helps: ADHD brains love quick wins. They generate the dopamine that powers motivation. Smaller steps also prevent individuals with ASD from feeling overwhelmed by too many variables at once.
  3. Share Goals with the Team
    • What It Means: Use tools like Microsoft Planner or Microsoft Teams to make goals visible to everyone. Assign roles, track progress, and share timelines in one accessible space.
    • Workplace Example: For a marketing project, post a clear timeline in Microsoft Planner:
      • “Week 1: Research.”
      • “Week 2: Create drafts.”
      • Week 3: Approvals and finalization.”
    • Why It Helps: Having a shared reference point prevents “I didn’t know that was my job” moments. For individuals with ADHD, it counters working memory challenges. For those with ASD, it provides the structure and predictability they often thrive on.
  4. Regularly Review and Adjust
    • What It Means: Check in frequently to make sure goals are still realistic and everyone’s on track. This could be during weekly stand-ups, quick one-on-ones, or team reviews.
    • Workplace Example: A manager notices during a weekly meeting that someone’s struggling to meet their deadline. Instead of letting them flounder, they help reallocate resources or adjust the timeline to keep things moving.
    • Why It Helps: Individuals with ADHD often face task paralysis when overwhelmed by deadlines or competing priorities. Regular reviews help them recalibrate and regain momentum. For individuals with ASD, knowing they’ll have ongoing feedback reduces anxiety about unclear expectations.

For neurodivergent individuals, the difference between a vague “do this” and a clear, structured goal makes a big impact. Setting clear goals isn’t micromanaging, it’s the foundation that sets your entire team up for success.

So, stop winging it. Start focusing. You’ll see the difference.

Want more tips? Don’t miss the next post in this series: L is for Leverage – How Challenges Build Skills and Engagement.