Why Set SMART Goals?

It’s important for every organisation to have goals to work to – there’s a saying that to stand still is to go backwards, so looking ahead is key to every business’ development. However, establishing what these targets are can be a fine balancing act between satisfying ambition and trying to do the impossible, as if your team feels as though the latter is the case, this will have a demoralising effect. This is where SMART comes in, offering leaders a guideline on how they should approach the process of setting their aims. As an acronym, SMART has several different meanings and these can be applied in whichever way suits the context of how you are applying the concept. SMART stands for:

• S – specific, significant, stretching
• M – measurable, meaningful, motivational
• A – achievable, acceptable, action-orientated
• R – realistic, rewarding, results-orientated, relevant
• T – time-based, trackable, tangible

Using the first word from each of these examples, we can break down what you should be focusing on when using this concept in everyday business. ‘Specific’ simply means that you should look to include as much detail as possible in what your goal actually means and how you hope to accomplish it. ‘Measurable’ relates to setting criteria within your goal so you can determine how successful your efforts have been. ‘Achievable’ refers to setting a goal that even though it might seem like a long way off at first, it is one that can be attained as the team working towards it develops. Similarly, ‘Realistic’ is an important one as there’s no point in setting a goal that is impossible for you and your team to reach. Finally, a goal needs to be ‘Time-based’, otherwise there is no sense of urgency and the goal may never be reached. Several of our corporate training courses focus on the SMART concept, so why not expand you and your teams knowledge by booking a place with us? [block id=”1068″]