Turning SMART goals into SUPER-charged goals …
Mike Farrier (he, him, his)
Unleashing and enabling optimal potential - HR Disruptor; Change Agent; and Certified Executive Coach (CEC)
Many organizations have embraced the use of goal-setting as a cornerstone to performance management / employee evaluation and as a lynchpin to the attainment of corporate (and personal) objectives. This focus on improving performance management has given rise to some wonderful tools and approaches, yet in many cases we still struggle to achieve our full potential – both individually and as organizations.
The standard banner In terms of goal-setting is developing goals using the SMART format:
What exactly do you want to accomplish?
?How will you measure and monitor your progress; what will be the indicator that you have achieved what you set out to do?
?In light of current and anticipated circumstances, is it actually possible to attain this goal?
?Is it actually within the realm of reasonableness and possibility to accomplish this goal?
When will this goal be accomplished; what is the timeline to reach and achieve the desired outcome?
This framework can provide focus that facilitates more effective pursuit of goals.?From this launch point, some additional techniques and acronyms have emerged to enhance the goal-setting process.?These have included shifting to FAST (Frequently discussed; Ambitious; Specific; and, Transparent) goals and pushing further towards CLEAR (Collaborative; Limited; Emotional; Appreciable; and, Refinable) goals. Each of these techniques help give definition and structure to goals, but … they still may not bring the value-add performance anticipated and hoped for in pursuing such goals.
After using the framework to structure goals well, the more important step is to ensure that the goals established are worthy of pursuing and will help us reach the desired end-state while delivering value added returns in support of the original objective.?One way to enhance this likelihood is to SUPER-charge the goals established by adding SUPER attributes (Shared; Understood; Prioritized; Enabled; Resonant) to the goal structure.
?We are much more likely to succeed in achieving our goal if we have shared it with others.?The shared aspect starts from the very beginning when goals are co-created between the goal pursuer and their supervisor.?Through this “partnering” approach, shared responsibilities can also be identified and committed to – what the employee will do and be responsible for and what the supervisor and other supports will do and be responsible for in pursuit of the goal.
领英推荐
One of the mantras I have adopted over the years is that “documentation is your friend”.?Writing the goal down and then sharing the document adds an additional super-charging effect.?Research has suggested that writing down your goals AND regularly sharing and updating them with others can increase your likelihood of succeeding by 42% to 77%.
When we write down and share our goals we are, in essence, making a public contract both with ourselves and to others which increases our commitment to following through.?We do not want to let our “goal partners” down.
It has been said that there is a lot of clarity in hindsight, which of course, implies a lack of foresight such as that epitomized in the often cited notion that “if you don’t know where you are going any road will take you there”.?These perspectives are not helpful in goal attainment!
To supercharge a goal we need to make sure it is fully and completely understood by all who will play a part in bringing it to fruition. Building on the “S” above, shared and mutual understanding around clarity of expectations; purpose; roles and responsibilities; deliverables; and timelines are essential elements to effectively launch the goal and keep it on track (i.e. on the best road to get us there!).
Prioritizing what we need to do to achieve the goal we have established is simply the process of leveraging the clarity gained in the “U” phase of understanding and identifying exactly what we need to be doing, in what order, to keep us moving towards the desired outcome of the goal. In this process of prioritizing, we focus on the importance of what needs to take place and bring alignment of cost, benefits, efforts, etc. with the relative importance of each priority task to achieve the goal.
In addition, with a focused prioritization we know exactly what we should be saying “yes” to which empowers us to say “no”, or at least deflect to “not right now”, to those activities and requests that will pull us away from and derail/deprioritize the attainment of the goal.
We frequently focus on empowerment and the importance of making sure employees are empowered.?“Em-Power” means to give power to and can be misleading.?In many organizations, there is positional power (or a lack thereof) that can become prohibitive or create a barrier to goal attainment.?What we want to do in supercharging individual goals is to help unleash the existing personal power, passion and motivation that employees have for autonomy (let me do it); mastery (doing it well); to fulfill the aligned and prioritised (“P”) purpose for the goal in the first place.?This is accomplished by shifting the support paradigm from empowerment to enablement.
“En-Able” means to make able. We need to make sure that we help employees feel and be fully able to compete the goals that have been set.?Enablement in this capacity includes ensuring adequate resourcing/funding is available for the tasks, equipment, staff, etc. that will need to be accessed to complete the goal.?It is making sure the employee has the time required to do what needs to be done.?It requires removing distractions and honouring the commitments on roles and responsibilities of the supporting cast that were made in the “co-creation” stage of the goal setting process. ?(NOTE – I am not using enable / enabling in the context of addictions.)
When someone is excited, energized and has a sense of connection and meaning with something, we will often hear them say “that really resonates with me!” ?And this resonance is the seed for action.
Resonance evokes a strong believe and a feeling of shared emotion.?It is the essence of alignment and harmonization and creates meaning, connection and focus.?In this context, the goals we set will be all the more powerful when they are resonant with the overall purpose of the organization (my department, my job). They also need to be directly and clearly linked to making a difference that is meaningful.?When the goal (and what it will take to do it) is also resonant with the skills, talents and passions of the goal pursuer, the likelihood of having impact and making a difference is enriched.
Adding these SUPER attributes to SMART (FAST, CLEAR) goals will increase the effectiveness of goal-oriented behaviour and will help ensure goals are meaningful, aligned and impactful in moving both individuals and organizations forward in achieving optimal performance.
?