A goal is a general statement about a desired outcome with
one or more specific objectives that define in precise terms what is to be
accomplished within a designated time frame. A goal may be performance-related,
developmental, a special project, or some combination.
Then what is SMART Goal?
Goals should describe accomplishments, not activities. First,
let’s look at what the S.M.A.R.T. acronym means…
Specific: Goal
objectives should address the five Ws… who, what, when, where, and why. Make sure
the goal specifies what needs to be done with a timeframe for completion.
Measurable: Goal objectives should include numeric or
descriptive measures that define quantity, quality, cost, etc.
Achievable: Goal objectives should be within the staff
member’s control and influence; a goal may be a “stretch” but still feasible.
Relevant: Goals should be instrumental to the mission of the
department (and ultimately, the institution). Why is the goal important? How
will the goal help the department achieve its objectives?
Develop goals that relate to the staff member’s key accountability or link with departmental goals that align with the
institutional agenda. Example: develop and implement a diversity recruitment plan
that increases the number of diversity candidates by ten percent.
Now let’s relate it with Tower Building Activity….
The tower building exercise was held in the class to
demonstrate the importance of goal setting.
The goal setting in this case was to set the number of blocks
that a person can put one over the other.
Initially everyone was asked to set goals for themselves and
tell the number of blocks with which they can build a tower and t was given
that in highest no of blocks stacked were 27. The response varied from 20-50
blocks.
A Team of 3 was asked
to build a tower. Before building they were asked to set a goal. Based on past
data and potential the goal set was 35.
Finally team made a tower of 28 blogs.
So was the goal set smart???
Yes in the end it seemed to be smart one as the goal set was
higher than the previous record while lower than the potential yet they crossed
the past performance. So the goal set and goal achieved can be considered as
realistic one.
Performance = Realistic
Goal Set* Realistic Goal Achieved.
Performance always enhances the potential. SMART goal setting
is always important as it extract the best performance which in turn determines
the true potential.
