Without clearly defined goals, employees will have little accountability, act without decisiveness, and put forth the minimum amount of effort. Clearly this is not a good situation, yet many managers fail to set actionable goals for the members of their team. For a workforce to be productive, leaders must clearly define their expectations for every employee. However, rather than handing these goals down as directives, management staff can realize better outcomes by involving employees in the goal-setting process. This process can be time consuming, and may take several attempts to align employee goals with management’s expectations, but this should not be a deterrent. By ensuring that all employees have a clear understanding of what is expected of them, and knowing that these expectations align with the goals they have set for themselves, organizations can see a notable increase in engagement levels and productivity.