Making your Goals SMART(er)

It’s that time of the year where many of us are in goal planning mode for FY’23. I was looking back at some of the key lessons I have learned over the past 2.5 years setting and accomplishing goals. I have had many wins and failures. And while I am on this topic I decided to capture the lessons in a blog post as the practice of writing them down makes us all better!

But ... What is a SMART goal?

A SMART goal stands for Specific (what, who, where), Measurable (how), Achievable/Attainable (how), Relevant (why), and Time bound (when). The basic premise of a SMART goal is similar to that of STAR technique where the emphasis is on the Situation (what, why, who, where), Technique (How), Actions (How), Results (When).

SMART goal and STAR technique are built on the basic premise of 5W’s framework that emphasizes the importance of what, who, where, how, why, and when.

The banner on this post shows a simple mind-map that should give you the visual representation of what makes a good SMART goal.

How do you make your SMART goal SMARTer?

It's all about asking the right questions when creating a SMART goal. Here is a running list of questions that you can consider asking to make your goals SMART’er.?

What

• Is the goal a team specific goal or a goal aligned with another broader organization goal or program??
• What are some of the risks associated with the goal?
• What are your dependencies??
• What is the definition of done?
• What resources or skills do you need to get started?
• What's the impact if you don't work on this goal??
• Does your goal title have a current to desired (target) state that it's driving for?
• What would it mean to your team or organization if the goal is successful??
• Did you scope the goal and size it (estimate)?

Who

• Who is the customer of the goal?
• Who will work on this goal?
• Is this a goal you will solely own or lead & influence another team to deliver on? Ask the why for both.?
• Who will be the single-point of contact for the goal that owns reporting and closure?

How

• What steps would you take to accomplish the goal and track progress?
• Is the goal logically broken down into multiple milestones so you can report progress on and iterate?
• Will you be able to report against the goal measure (output) in a % format??If not, how do you plan to do it?
• Will you use a specific metric or define a metric to report progress on??
• If no metric, can you quantify?(numerically or descriptively) completion and measure progress?
• How will your customer benefit??

Why

• Why is this goal important?
• Does the essence of a goal align with your overall team vision?

When

• When will you accomplish your goal?

Thanks for reading this post. As always feedback or comments are welcome!