Welcome back to Team Talk!

Before reading on...

Take a moment to refamiliarize yourself with your Top 5 themes—they'll help you connect the strategies in this newsletter to your strengths.

Need a refresher? Check out the summary of talent themes (PDF) and strengths domain resources (PDF) to brush up before you continue.

What we'll explore in this issue

As you think about how you want to start the year, this issue offers a few simple ways to use your strengths to set meaningful goals and create early momentum. Here’s what you’ll find as you read on:

• How to set strengths-based goals that bring clarity and direction
• A quick grounding exercise to help you reset and refocus
• Practical ways to bring goal setting into your day-to-day work
• A simple team activity for aligning goals together

I’d also love to hear from you! Send me an email at TeamTalk@sao.wa.gov with your thoughts, feedback or questions—your input helps us make this newsletter as useful as possible.

Goal setting at work: Stronger teams start here

We all have goals, and Gallup research shows that linking your signature strengths with your goals increases both well-being and accomplishment. When your goals fit the way you naturally think, feel and behave, progress feels more meaningful, and often comes with less friction.

Rather than focusing on the right way to set goals, this approach encourages you to focus on your way. Strengths-based goal setting helps you work with your natural patterns instead of against them.

A simple framework for strengths-based goals

Here are five steps to help you establish goals that are clear, achievable and aligned with your strengths:

1. Write them down. Goal achievers write things down because it builds commitment
2. Make them SMART. Specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and timed
3. Link your goals to your strengths. How can your strengths help you reach each one?
4. Identify an accountability partner. Share your goals and stay focused together
5. Ask for support. Discuss your goals with your supervisor or team

No matter which CliftonStrengths© domain is most dominant for you, each one plays a role in helping you set and reach meaningful goals:

• Strategic Thinking. Helps you clarify long-term direction, identify patterns and consider future impacts as you plan your goals.
• Executing. Helps you break goals into actionable steps, follow through consistently and turn plans into results.
• Relationship Building. Helps you involve others for support and accountability, strengthen trust and stay connected to your team as you work toward your goals.
• Influencing. Helps you share your goals clearly, inspire movement, gain buy-in and keep others aligned with where you’re headed.

Each domain offers a different pathway to progress. The key is embracing goals, and steps that honor the way you naturally work best.

And while frameworks and steps are helpful, goal setting really comes to life when you see how it plays out day to day. Next, let’s take a look at what strengths-based goal setting can look like in action.

Strength moment: Goal setting in action

I’m the assistant director for my team. If I look at my Top 5 strengths, there isn’t a strategic strength in sight—nothing that naturally leads to long-term planning. If I’m honest, most of my days can get away from me while I’m putting out fires and attending to the suddenly important. 

But when I think about what I want to accomplish through the lens of my strengths, I see opportunities. My Maximizer talent helps me look for excellence in others, and my Arranger helps me find the best roles for each team member. Those talents don’t scream “goal setting,” but they do guide the small, intentional actions I take to support meaningful outcomes; like building strong teams that deliver superior resources and services through happy, enthusiastic employees.

Because of that, I’m passionate about maintaining an engaging and motivating work environment and team culture.

Here are a couple examples:

• At least twice a month, I recognize each team member's unique efforts, either in conversation or by email, so they consistently feel valued and appreciated.
• Once a quarter, I schedule a short “idea lab” meeting with each team member to talk about job satisfaction, working relationships and career development goals. This helps me learn how I can support each person more effectively.

Just writing these down and reviewing them each Monday helps me practice small, intentional actions, even in a busy environment.

Try this exercise related to goal setting

Before we move on, take a moment to turn this idea into something practical. Goal setting doesn’t have to be complicated. Sometimes the simplest steps help you build the most momentum. This quick exercise can help you pause, refocus and use your strengths to guide the actions you take this week.

Take 60 seconds to anchor your week:

1. Write down one goal that matters most right now.
2. Ask yourself: “Which of my strengths can help me take the first or the next step?”
3. Identify one action you can take in the next 24 hours to move that goal forward.

Small, strengths-based actions add up quickly. As you practice this throughout the month, you’ll start to notice where your strengths naturally support your goals, and where you may want to adjust your approach. That awareness sets you up for the next step: understanding why this exercise works and how your strengths can help you stay consistent.

Why this goal setting exercise works

When you pause long enough to connect your goals with your strengths, you shift from reacting to your workload to intentionally directing it. This simple exercise works because it gives your strengths a clear place to plug in, and that’s where real momentum begins.

Let’s say progress on one of your goals is behind the agreed-upon timeline. Instead of getting discouraged, this is an opportunity to lean into your strengths and adjust your approach.

Here are some examples:

• Using Activator, you might pinpoint why progress has stalled and decide what to do next. That could mean adjusting your approach, simplifying the goal or taking a small step to get things moving again. Over time, this reinforces an important message, for you and your team, that taking action, even when it’s not perfect, is better than staying stuck
• Using Focus, you might evaluate where your time and energy are going and clarify which priorities matter most right now. This helps you make intentional course corrections and stay aligned with your goal, even when competing demands pull at your attention.

When you use your strengths this way, goal setting becomes less about rigid plans and more about awareness and adjustment. Small check-ins like these can help you stay grounded, flexible and moving forward; one intentional step at a time.

Leading with goal setting in mind

Ryan’s quote is a good reminder that goal setting isn’t just about making a list; it’s about understanding how your natural talents shape the way you approach your work. When you lean into your strengths, your goals become easier to start, easier to sustain and more meaningful to achieve. As a leader, you can model this kind of intentionality for your team.

Here are two simple practices you can use throughout January:

• Start with clarity: Before diving into work, take two minutes to review which tasks align with your goals.
• Check for alignment: When new requests come in, ask yourself, “Does this support the direction I’ve set for myself or my team?

Leading this way keeps your own goals front and center, and it also helps your team see what matters most. It’s a small shift that builds focus, calm and momentum.

Bring goal setting into your team meetings

Goal setting becomes even more powerful when it’s practiced together. When teams take a moment to name their priorities and connect them to their strengths, it creates clarity, accountability and a shared sense of direction.

Here’s a simple way to weave goal setting into your regular meetings, no matter how often they occur:

• Create space to name goals. Invite each team member to share one goal they’re currently focusing on.
• Encourage strengths language. As goals are shared, ask people to reflect on how they made progress, not just what they accomplished.

For example, a team member might say:

• “I used my Responsibility strength to follow through on my commitment, even when competing priorities came up.”
• “I leaned on my Context strength to apply lessons from a similar project and move this one forward.”

These small moments help teams recognize that progress doesn’t happen by accident; it’s driven by the strengths people use every day.

Over time, this practice builds awareness, improves teamwork and reinforces a strengths-based culture, one meeting at a time.

Resources

• Aligning SMART goals and your strengths worksheet (PDF)
• Explore the full list of the 34 CliftonStrengths© (PDF)
• Learn more about the CliftonStrengths© Strengths Domains (PDF) with this easy-to-use guide
• Gallup article: How to Set Goals at Work that Lead to Higher Performance

Thanks for being here!

As you step into the new year, I hope these tools help you set goals that feel clear, meaningful and doable. January can feel busy and uncertain, but it’s also full of possibilities. When you use your strengths to guide your choices, one small action at a time, you create the kind of momentum that carries you well beyond the first few weeks of the year.

I’d love to hear how you’re using your strengths to reset, refocus or take action in 2026. If you have a story, challenge or insight to share, send it my way at TeamTalk@sao.wa.gov. Your experiences help shape future issues and support others who are on this same journey.

Thanks for reading, and here’s to a strong start to the year ahead.

You’ve got this—and we’re here to help you keep moving forward.

Best,

Debbie Pennick, CPA

Assistant Director | Center for Government Innovation,

a service of the Office of the Washington State Auditor

Stronger teams, one strength at a time.