Articles on Leadership Matters:

Goal Setting - Have You Heard of SMART Goals?

This is the simplest, most effective way to achieve your goals, while saving you vasts amount of time.

So what are SMART Goals?

Simple yet effective way of setting and monitoring goals. The SMART goal structure is a proven method to create a goal that is achievable, reasonable and easy to follow.

Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Relavant
Time-bound

Let me define each component and provide some examples of effectively using this system of goals setting.

Specific
Goals should be straightforward and emphasize what you want to happen. Being specific in setting the goal has a greater impact than a general or broad goal. Specific goals have a greater likelihood of being accomplished.

General goal: "Get in shape."

Specific goal: "Join a health club and workout 3 days a week."

To help you set the specific goal, answer these questions:

Who is involved?
What is it you, your team or the team member wants or needs to accomplish?
Where will the goal be accomplished?
When will the goal be accomplished by?
Why are we setting the goal, why is it important? What is the reason, purpose or benefits to accomplishing the goal?
How will the goal be accomplished?

Measurable
Establishing concrete criteria for measuring goals creates benchmarks for achievements within the goal. By setting measurements for the goal will keep the goal on track. If you can’t measure it, it can’t be managed.

To determine if your goal is measurable ask questions such as:

How much?
How many?
How will I know when it is accomplished?

Attainable
If a goal is too far out of reach, you may not maintain the full commitment necessary to achieve it. You may start with good intentions, but become discouraged by the lack of immediate results. For example, completing a marathon may not be an achievable goal if you've never run before. However, completing a 5K run may be attainable.

The goal should be challenging, yet attainable.

Ask yourself: Is this goal within reasonable reach?

Can I attain this goal if I put forth the proper effort?

Remember, once you have achieved this goal, you may want to set a new goal to challenge you further.

Relevant
The goal you set should be relevant to your success in a specific area, whether it be work, health or home-life. Tying the goal to something that is important to you will build your commitment to achieving it. If you are helping someone else set a SMART goal the relevance tells them “what’s in it for me” and connects their success to something bigger.

To ensure the goal is relevant, ask:

How will achieving this goal affect my overall success in this specific area of my life?
How will my success in this goal affect those around me?
My team? My department? My company?

Time-Bound
The goal must have a time frame for completion and for benchmarks. Being able to track your progress over time encourages you to keep going and reach your goal. Stating an end point for achievement gives you a target to work towards. Without a set completion date, the goal becomes vague, and commitment may waiver.

Example: I will spend (45 minutes) (each day this month) walking on the treadmill.
When does this goal need to be accomplished?
What is my timeline for success?
How often will I check my progress?
How much time will I spend on this each day, week, or month?

MyLeadershipSuccess.com
08 Mar 2007

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