SMARTER Goals
In order to maximise on your effort, it can be helpful to set yourself a leadership focus. To increase the chances of commiting to your goal, you can write them in a way that meets a criteria known as SMARTER.
Take a look at this 5 minute video which talks you through how to apply it to your goals:
Committing to your goals requires the goal to be ‘SMARTER’:
Specific: Focus on one area. What exactly will be achieved? Is it succinct?
Measurable: What are the markers of success? How will you know you got there?
Accountable: Is the goal decided by you? Do you have complete accountability for your achievements? How much control do you have over the process and outcome?
Realistic: Does it create stress to motivate but not so much stress to overwhelm? Does it consider the brutal facts? Have you considered possible barriers?
Time Phased: What is the time allocation? When will it be done? Is it achievable?
Exciting: Does this goal elicit positive emotions? What are they? Positive emotions help momentum. Phrase goals as looking forward to having something, rather than consequence avoidance.
Rewarding: Does it enable you to use your strengths and skills? Which ones? What’s in it for you (the payoff)? Why is this meaningful? Who else benefits from you achieving this goal? What will it feel like when you have achieved this goal?
Reflective Questions
- What do you feel most proud of in your leadership?
- What kind of leader do you want to be known for?
- To be the best leader you can be, what do you need to let go of?
- What do you wish you could change about your current leadership?
- What assumptions are you holding onto, that may be holding you back?
- Fast forward 12-months from now, what do you want to be different in the way you lead?