How to set goals – Practical guide and workbook
“A goal without a plan is just a wish”. - Antoine De Saint Exupéry
Do you know how to set goals that are clear and objective? Or have you ever set goals for yourself or your teams? If yes, then you know the importance of setting goals. However, we often don’t know where to start or how to write them down.
Setting goals isn’t rocket science. It is a fairly easy process and can have a lot of advantages when done correctly. It can help you manage and improve on a particular area of your life. Research shows that goals help us direct our intentions and efforts both cognitively and behaviourally. Setting goals allows you to focus and measure performance. It will also help you stay motivated and stick to the right path till your goals are achieved.
Why to set goals?
The first step is to understand why do you want to set the goals? Perhaps, it is something that you started and weren’t unable to complete? Or is it something new that you want to achieve? This is called reflection where you look at personal or professional skills or lack thereof that will help you achieve your goal. You may also want to look at your interests or what motivates you the most.
Types of goals
The second step is to identify which type of goal it is. There are three types of goals
Outcome Goals
As the name suggests, the outcome goals focus on the outcome and often it relates to a win. For example, I want a salary raise of $5000 by the end of this year. These types of goals are singular in nature but are not entirely under your control. Even through the end result is very motivating, the outcome largely depends on others too. In the case of the example above, you may not meet the targets because someone in your team gets sick and is unable to work or there is a supply shortage, and you are unable to complete a project due to that.
Performance Goals
Performance goal focuses on the standard of performance and how you achieve that standard objectively. These goals are often represented with numbers and comparisons. For example, I want to make 100 sales calls in 5 days. Note, these goals are more flexible and mostly under your control. Performance goals can also be broken down further and once the initial goal is achieved you can try and beat your best effort. In the example above, once your initial goal is achieved, you may want to increase the number of sales calls or reduce the number of days.
Process Goals
Process goals supports your performance. Think of it like smaller milestones or accomplishments towards the performance goals. Process goals focuses on the strategy or the skills that your need to achieve the goal. For example, I will spend 1 hour each day to prepare for my sales calls. Or I will study 2 hours each day to complete my certification. These goals are completely within your control and probability of their fulfillment depends entirely on your effort.
SMART Goals
Third step is to outline the SMART principles.
SMART is an acronym which stands for “Specific”, “Measurable”, “Achievable”, “Relevant”, “Time-based”.
George T. Doran used the phrase for the first time in the Management Review edition from November 1981. The SMART method of setting goals is a tool to track your success by being accountable and evaluating your objectives realistically. Making SMART goals will boost the likelihood of achieving your goals whether it is in your personal life or professional. It can also make you more productive and ensure that your goals are specific and realistic.
Specific
Your goal needs to be clear, specific and distinct otherwise you will struggle to stay motivated and achieve your goals. Things you may ask yourself are:
a. What needs to be the outcome?
b. Why do you want to achieve this goal?
c. Who is responsible for it?
d. Where will you attain skills to achieve this goal?
e. What steps will you take?
Measurable
You only know if you are heading in the right direction if you can track your performance and measure it. Therefore, you will need to quantify your goals and create specific benchmarks. Things you may ask yourself are:
a. How many?
b. How much?
c. By what time?
d. Within how many days?
e. What’s the deadline?
Attainable
To be effective, your goals must be reasonably and realistically attainable. You should do a reality check and see if you can accurately achieve the goals with the resources you have. Setting big goals is admirable but it is of no use if you cant achieve them. Therefore to set achievable goals, you must ask questions like:
a. How will I achieve this goal?
b. Do I have the right resources?
c. Have I budgeted correctly?
d. What other external factor do we need to consider?
e. How will I align myself/my team if I can’t achieve?
Relevant
This is about knowing if the goals are relevant with the direction the business is headed in. It is about knowing the big-picture and if the goal really matters. Quations you may ask are:
a. Is it worthwhile?
b. Am I the right person?
c. Does this match our values?
d. Is it the right time?
e. Is it acceptable?
Time-bound
Every goal needs a deadline or a target completion date so that you have something to look forward to. Time related boundaries should be created so that everyone working towards the goal stays on track. Questions you may want to ask are:
a. What is the ideal completion date?
b. What do we need to achieve within the next 10 days?
c. Where do we want to be at the end of the year?
Summary
Setting goals in both personal and professional levels can inspire you and help you build new skill sets. It will help you stay motivated and may also help you in taking more responsibility at work. Goals will help you and your teams to overcome procrastination and keep you accountable to finish the task.