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Newsletter July 13, 2011 Are Your Goals S-M-A-R-T? |
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June 30 has come and gone. We are half way through the year. What’s happened to the goals you set January 1? How long did you persist? In the last newsletter we looked at a whole range of reasons why people don’t achieve their goals. Did you check off the ones that sabotaged your efforts? Writing your goals down seems to help. Management guru, Brian Tracy says that only 3% people write their goals down and the other 97% work for them. A study done at the Dominican University in the US by Dr. Gail Matthews found that
What I am very clear about from my coaching and mentoring work where I spend focused and concentrated time with people is that just making decisions in our head about goals rarely brings satisfactory outcomes. Setting goals and achieving them is a PROJECT. It requires all the time, planning, reflection, organising and implementation that any other project requires. Many people struggle to make this kind of commitment to their goals. Very few therefore achieve them. Today’s feature article is for those who want to make a real commitment to their goals for the second half of the year. It is about how to use the S-M-A-R-T Goals Process to get your goal clear and therefore give it the best chance of being achieved.
 Maree Harris. PhD. 
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Is Your Goal A S-M-A-R-T Goal?
To give your goal the best chance of being achieved, it needs to meet these five criteria. It needs to be Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic and Timed. Because we share our lives with other significant people it is really SMART to make sure we have their support for our important goals. They can support and empower us or they can deride us and throw water on our dreams. Specific
Your goals need to be specific, not general. For example: Not specific - “I want to spend more time with my family”. Specific - “I am going to turn my mobile phone on to silent from the time I get home from work until 8.30 every night so I can spend quality time with my family”. Not specific - “I am going to get fit”. Specific - “I am going to join the Baxle Running Group and start to get back into running by running at least three times a week”. Not specific - “I am going to improve my time management this year”. Specific - “First thing every day, I am going to set the 3 most important tasks/projects I need to complete that day. I am going to focus on them until completion and without self-initiated distractions. If I complete them, I will proceed to other tasks/projects”.
Measurable
This measurement does not have to be a number but it needs to be a way of “measuring” whether you are achieving your goal or not. You need to work this out before you begin. All the examples above have measurements built into them. Work with an Accountability or Performance Partner to check how you are going.
Actionable
You need to be able to make your goal happen. Are you prepared to take a stand with your manager and clients in defence of the importance of family time if they cannot contact you 24/7? Are you prepared to get up one hour earlier than you normally would every morning so that you can run? Are you prepared to say “no” to people who want you to do, what are to you, non-important tasks that can wait, so that you can focus on what is important for you? If you’re not prepared to take action on these three things, then you won’t be able to achieve your goals. You will give up on them very quickly.
Realistic
Your goal needs to be realistic at this point in time in your life or in your workplace. Do a reality check. What might get in the way of me achieving this goal? For example, if you are in a
role where you need to be on call/available 24/7 then you can’t spend time with
your family by turning your phone off. You need to find another way of spending
quality time with your family. If you haven’t exercised for some years and are very overweight, then joining a running group may not be a wise way to begin to get fit. Or if you leave for work at 7 a.m. and don’t get home until 7 p.m. then running may not be the best way to commit to getting fit because it will be very difficult to find time and persist
Timed
You need a date beside every goal, creating a deadline for its achievement. This keeps you accountable, motivated and on track. When you break the goal down into steps, date each step along the way also. If unexpected events happen in your life that see you miss the deadline, just extend it. Make sure you keep moving forward. Don't start up the “car” and leave it idling in the garage. A deadline is actually an accountability measure so when we look at the Specific goals above, there are no deadlines as such. You do, however, need an accountability measure. Set a deadline to review how you are going either by yourself or with an Accountability or Performance Partner. If you have let your commitment lapse, explore why. You may just need to re-commit. You may need to rework your goal in terms of the S-M-A-R-T steps before beginning again. Whatever you do, don’t give up!
Managing the Soft Stuff is increasingly the key to hard results. Coaching will help you to develop dynamic, creative and effective people. Anthony Grant and Jane Greene. Coaching can be a most empowering experience.
My Pilot Platinum Coaching Program, Follow this link to view the program.starting early August in Geelong, can help you achieve this. Join me for coffee in Geelong for an Information Session on Monday, 18th July at 4.30 - 5.30 p.m. Phone me - 03 53332900 or email me for the venue.
Upcoming Events Presentations by Ian Berry on Changing What's Normal and Launch of Book of the Same Name These are being held in Adelaide, Geelong and Melbourne. $40.00
for the 90 minute presentation, including a copy of the book. Check
them out at the links below. Ian has closing dates on these but I'd go
ahead and book even if past those dates. I suspect there won't be a
problem - unless he has hundreds of bookings - then he won't mind
anyway! Adelaide 20th July, 2011 - http://www.ianberry.au.com/cwndiyadelseminar.html Geelong 27th July, 2011 - http://www.ianberry.au.com/cwndiygeelongseminar.html Melbourne 28th July, 2011 - http://www.ianberry.au.com/cwndiymelbseminar.html
Maree Harris. PhD. Presenting Warragul - Thursday July 28, 2011. How To Motivate Your People With Feedback and Empower Them With Feedforward. 12 noon lunch. $40. Traralgon - Thursday 28, 2011. Same presentation in evening at 6 p.m. $40. Bookings for both to Karen.Akers@chhwoodproducts.com.au ________________ Ballarat - Monday August 8. Stand Out From The Crowd - Growing Your Career Through Networking. 12-2 p.m. $20. Further information email: info@ballaratbusinesswomen.com.au
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