Setting Goals the S.M.A.R.T way!!!

Shoot for the moon, even if you miss, you'll land amongst the stars...

                                                                                                    - Les Brown

Setting goals is a fundamental component to long term success. The basic reason for this is that you can't get where you are trying to go until you clearly define where that is. Every organisation focuses on its goal and allot time and resources for it. Goals help employee stay aware of what is expected from them and leave little room for people to hide behind the curtain of unspecified expectations.

Taking further the tower building discussion, where it was showed that through clear and separate roles and responsibilities, teams were able to over-achieve their targets, we can understand how they over achieved their target The Goal setting of a team should be synchronized with its potential.

The main purpose of setting a goal is to REALIZE THE POTENTIAL. And a smart way to set one's goal is the S.M.A.R.T approach.

The letters broadly conform to the words specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound. But other references could be drawn like
S - Significant, Simple
M - Motivational, Meaningful, Manageable
A - Achievable, Adjustable, Ambitious, Aligned, Acceptable, Aspiration, Assignable
R - Resourceful, Result-oriented, Realistic
T - Traceable, Time-oriented, Time-specific

Developing SMART Goals
1. Specific - Goals should be simplistically written and clearly define what one is going to do. A specific goal will answer the 5 W's

• What - What do I want to accomplish
• Why - Specific reasons and purpose
• Who - Who is involved?
• Where - location
• Which - requirements and constraints

2. Measurable - Goals should be measurable so that one have tangible evidence that I have accomplished the goal. There should be concrete criteria for measuring progress. A measurable goal will answer to the following questions:

• How much
• How many
• How to know when it is accomplished

3. Attainable - Goals should be achievable well enough so that one can achieve them. One must possess the appropriate knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to achieve the goal. Achievable goals motivate employees. Impossible goals demotivate them.

4. Relevant - The goals must be relevant to one's purpose and for one's team. It stresses the importance of choosing the goals that matters to teams, organisations, departments etc.

5. Time-Bounded - Goals should have a time frame as it will provide the required urgency, care, direction and focus to achieve the goal. It answers the "When" question of the goal setting.

Goal Achievement should not be equal to Goal Setting. They are different and they should affect each other actively and positively.
Goals Set should always be above than Goals achieved and Goals achieved should in turn be greater than Historical record. Also Goals should be set in such a way that the Potential is always equal or greater than the goals.

Pygmalion Effect and Performance:

In the Greek myth Pygmalion, a prince carved an ivory statue of his ideal woman. He fell in love with the statue and named it Galatea. The prince's expectations were realized when Galatea was given life by the Goddess of Love.

The central theme of the story is that the expectations of one person can impact the action of others. It is a phenomenon in which greater the expectation placed upon people, the better they perform. One's expectations of people and their expectations of themselves are the key factors in how well people perform at work This fundamental principle is applied for performance and potential performance improvement at work The Pygmalion effect is best explained through a Fibonacci curve.

Fibonacci curve

 Thanks!!!