SMARTER Goals
Setting Goals is the first step to achieving them.
Proper goals can help identify weaknesses, provide vision and guidance, and most importantly hold us accountable to the goals.
Therefore, goal-setting is a crucial skill in both our professional life and personal life. Mastering the proper goal-setting skills
is vital to achieving a successful and fulfilling life.
SMART Goals
SMART is an acronym for a widely used goal-setting technique. Its criteria are commonly attributed to Peter Drucker’s Management by Objectives concept.
To make sure your goals are clear and reachable, your goal should be:
- Specific
- What you will achieve? What you will do? Be specific, avoid being general
- Measurable
- What data/criteria will you use to decide whether you’ve met the goal?
- Achievable
- Is the goal realistic? Are you sure you can do this? Do you have the right skills and resources?
- Relevant
- Does the goal matter to you? Is the goal meaningful to you? Does the goal align with your strategies/missions?
- Time-bound
- What is the deadline for accomplishing the goal
SMARTER Goals
SMART is an effective tool that provides the clarity, focus, and motivation to accomplish your goals. But it doesn’t include the important part of assessment and feedback. Some authors have extended it into SMARTER to include extra focus areas.
- Evaluated
- To evaluate the progress of accomplishing the goal regularly
- The evaluation policy (like when and how frequently) should be included in goal-setting.
- Reviewed
- To review the goal and its accomplishing status after the deadline
- To draw lessons that can be learned from this goal, including its setting and completing, so that improvements can be made for future goals