How do you adapt and adjust your SMART goals in response to changing circumstances or feedback?

1 Assess the situation

The first step to adapting and adjusting your SMART goals is to assess the situation and identify what has changed and why. Maybe you have new information, new resources, new challenges, or new opportunities that affect your original goal. Maybe you have received feedback from your manager, your peers, your customers, or your stakeholders that suggests a different direction or approach. Whatever the case, you need to evaluate the impact of the change on your goal and decide whether you need to modify, postpone, or abandon it.

2 Review your SMART criteria

The next step is to review your SMART criteria and see how they align with the current situation. Are your goals still specific enough to guide your actions and measure your progress? Are they still measurable enough to track your results and evaluate your performance? Are they still achievable enough to motivate you and challenge you without being unrealistic or impossible? Are they still relevant enough to support your overall vision and purpose? Are they still time-bound enough to create a sense of urgency and accountability? If not, you need to adjust your SMART criteria accordingly.

3 Communicate the changes

The third step is to communicate the changes to your SMART goals to anyone who is involved or affected by them. This includes your manager, your team, your customers, your stakeholders, and yourself. You need to explain the reasons for the changes, the expected outcomes, the new action steps, and the new deadlines. You also need to solicit feedback, address concerns, and resolve conflicts that may arise from the changes. By communicating the changes clearly and effectively, you can ensure that everyone is on the same page and committed to the new SMART goals.

4 Monitor and evaluate

The fourth step is to monitor and evaluate your progress and performance on your SMART goals regularly and consistently. You need to measure your results, compare them to your expectations, and identify any gaps or discrepancies. You also need to collect and analyze feedback from various sources, such as your manager, your team, your customers, and your stakeholders. You need to use this data and feedback to assess whether your SMART goals are still relevant, realistic, and achievable, or whether they need further adjustments.

5 Celebrate and learn

The final step is to celebrate and learn from your achievements and challenges on your SMART goals. You need to recognize and reward yourself and your team for the efforts and outcomes that you have accomplished. You also need to reflect and learn from the successes and failures that you have experienced. You need to identify what worked well, what didn't work well, and what can be improved for future SMART goals. By celebrating and learning from your SMART goals, you can enhance your skills, knowledge, and confidence for driving results.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?