Leadership – think S.M.A.R.T.

What is leadership? Leadership is: Facilitating the achievement of defined strategies and goals through the empowerment and assessment of individuals. In other words, making sure that they know what is expected of them, letting them get on with the job and giving feedback on performance.

Let’s consider the subject of goal setting and how careful consideration will improve clarity and facilitate achievement. When setting goals, think S.M.A.R.T

Define exactly what is required. How much, how many, where, etc.

A specific goal has a much greater chance of being accomplished than a general goal. To set a specific goal you must answer the six “W” questions:

*Who: Who is involved?

*What:      What do I want to accomplish?

*Where: Identify a location.

*When:      Establish a time frame.

*Which:     Identify requirements and constraints.

*Why:       Specific reasons, purpose or benefits of accomplishing the goal.

EXAMPLE:  A general goal would be, “Get in shape.” But a specific goal would say, “Join a health club and workout 3 days a week.”

Experience shows that what gets measured, gets done. It is as simple as that. But remember, if you cannot measure anything, then you cannot include it in your goals.

Establish concrete criteria for measuring progress toward the attainment of each goal you set.

When you measure your progress, you stay on track, reach your target dates, and experience the exhilaration of achievement that spurs you on to continued effort required to reach your goal.

To determine if your goal is measurable, ask questions such as……

How much? How many?

How will I know when it is accomplished?

Goals have to be achievable – certainly stretching, but achievable nonetheless. Set them too high and you will just turn people off. On the other hand, set them too low and they will not feel any sense of accomplishment.

When you identify goals that are most important to you, you begin to figure out ways you can make them come true. You develop the attitudes, abilities, skills, and financial capacity to reach them. You begin seeing previously overlooked opportunities to bring yourself closer to the achievement of your goals.

You can attain most any goal you set when you plan your steps wisely and establish a time frame that allows you to carry out those steps. Goals that may have seemed far away and out of reach eventually move closer and become attainable, not because your goals shrink, but because you grow and expand to match them.

When you list your goals you build your self-image. You see yourself as worthy of these goals, and develop the traits and personality that allow you to possess them.

All goals have to be mutually compatible – not just an individual’s goals but with those of other team members or departments, too. Beware though. Never include a goal where success depends on the success of another’s achievement. Each individual should be in control of his own goals.

A goal must represent an objective toward which you are both willing and able to work. A goal can be both high and realistic; you are the only one who can decide just how high your goal should be. But be sure that every goal represents substantial progress.

A high goal is frequently easier to reach than a low one because a low goal exerts low motivational force. Some of the hardest jobs you ever accomplished actually seem easy simply because they were a labor of love

The achievement of each goal has to have a timed milestone e.g. achieve £50,000 in sales by the end of Quarter One. The setting of specific milestones is critical to fulfilling the leadership role of performance monitoring and feedback.

With no time frame tied to it there’s no sense of urgency. If you want to lose 10 lbs, when do you want to lose it by? “Someday” won’t work. But if you anchor it within a timeframe, “by May 1st”, then you’ve set your unconscious mind into motion to begin working on the goal.
Your goal is probably realistic if you truly believe that it can be accomplished.

Additional ways to know if your goal is realistic is to determine if you have accomplished anything similar in the past or ask yourself what conditions would have to exist to accomplish this goal.

T can also stand for Tangible – A goal is tangible when you can experience it with one of the senses, that is, taste, touch, smell, sight or hearing.

When your goal is tangible you have a better chance of making it specific and measurable and thus attainable