Many of us feel inspired to start off the New Year strong, resolving to do better and make some progress on personal and professional growth.
Instead of making New Year’s resolutions, consider setting some goals so that you move from hopes, wishes and dreams to steps you can achieve. Just the act of writing down goals makes them a priority. (Pro tip: Use our Ultimate Goal Setting Worksheet here)
As leaders, goal setting can help to mitigate dealing with competing priorities because sometimes what seems urgent isn’t really important. Goals provide direction, motivation and a sense of purpose.
Effective leaders have vision and big, audacious ideas and use goal setting to bring them into reality. Through goal setting, they have a plan that moves the organization forward day by day and in stages that challenge team members and give them opportunities to learn and grow.
When you set performance goals for your team, you set them up for success because team members have clear expectations and understand how what they do contributes to the organization. It’s particularly motivating because when people feel their work matters, that what they do is valued, they tend to have higher levels of engagement and productivity.
By setting goals, you have the potential to ignite and maintain high-level performance.
Where to Start with Setting Goals
First, consider the big audacious personal or professional goal you’d like to achieve in the new year. Why does it matter to you? What will change if you achieve it?
Second, think about the obstacles you’ll face. Take a moment to list everything that could delay or stop you from achieving this goal (consider both internal and external barriers).
Create two columns on a piece of paper. Label the first column, “IF” and label the second column, “THEN.” Write your list of potential obstacles in the “IF” column and then write solutions in the “THEN” column. This is your plan for if this happens, then I will do this.
Next, refine your goal. After some reflection, you might realize that your initial goal needs a bit of rework. Maybe it should be bigger – or broken down into two goals.
Be SMART About Setting Your Goals
There’s a way to take goals and make them SMART. When you work through this process for a goal, you figure out the way forward with purpose and direction.
For a goal to be achievable, it should be:
- S—Specific. Good goals are specific and well-defined. Details should include what needs to be achieved, including who is responsible, what supports could be useful and where you want to go.
The questions to ask to set specific goals are: “What do I want to achieve? What does that achievement look like? What steps do I need to take to get there?” - M—Measurable. The only way to assess your progress is to determine measurements that let you track your goal and evaluate how well you achieved it. Measuring is precise, not vague. For example, instead of saying, “I will have more and better sales conversions,” a measurable goal is quantifiable with dates and precise amounts. For example: “I will have 10 new sales valued at more than $20,000.”
The questions to ask to set measurable goals are: “Can I track this goal? What will success look like? What can I quantify to measure progress?” - A—Attainable. To set attainable goals, your objectives must be challenging but realistic. If you can’t realistically achieve a goal (For example, “I’m going to be a nationally successful marketing rep by second quarter” is not realistic for someone only starting a marketing career). Map out the steps you plan to take to reach your goal.
The question to ask to set an attainable goal is: “Do I have enough resources, time and funds to make this happen in the timeframe I want it to happen?” - R—Relevant. It’s human nature to work harder to achieve a goal when it means something. A goal might look good on paper, but it’s less likely you’ll work toward it as effectively if it doesn’t align with your personal values or passions. (Pro tip: If you’re feeling stuck with this step, try creating a personal vision statement.)
The questions to ask to set a relevant goal are: “Why do I want to reach this goal? Do I think it’s worthwhile? Will I be able to stay committed in the long run?” - T—Timely or Time-Bound. When goals are time-bound, there’s an internal pressure and motivation to stay on track and get things completed. When we set short- and long-term deadlines, the goal is timely. Seeing due dates in a calendar and setting reminders is motivating. If we take the example with “measurable” above, it would now be: “I will have 10 new sales valued at more than $20,000 by next Friday.”
The questions to ask to set a timely or time-bound goal are: “What is my deadline? Is there a target date or time frame? Are there short- and long-term deadlines I need to observe?”
Why SMART Goals Work
Taking time to create SMART goals is powerful. This tool turns vague ambitions into objectives that you can see, measure and achieve within a defined timeframe.
Let’s consider how a fundraiser might turn the vague ambition of “doing better with fundraising” into a SMART goal.
- Specific: I am going to attract 50 new large-scale donors (donating over $50,000 each).
- Measurable: I will track progress by measuring how many new donors I bring in each month.
- Attainable: To reach my goal, I’ll use my marketing skills to launch a social media campaign and ad campaign to attract new donors. I will make a minimum of 10 cold calls a week.
- Relevant: I am passionate about building a sizable endowment to ensure the nonprofit has long-term sustainability. Acquiring new donors will also boost my reputation with the board of directors.
- Timely or Time-bound: I will have one year from today to reach my goal.
The last step is to make an action plan for your goal. This will articulate timelines and, if applicable, who is responsible for deliverables and when.
Leaders who set effective goals are able to move from ideas into action. They set out the steps required to achieve goals and make their goals SMART.
Coach’s Questions:
Are there goals from last year that you didn’t achieve? Have goals become merely dreams? How have your thoughts about goal setting shifted? What one or two goals are your focus for 2024? Who else on your team would benefit from this model?