As a business owner, manager, or HR professional, you undoubtedly set goals for or with your staff members. Perhaps you do so only because your organization requires it. More likely than not, however, you recognize the inherent value of identifying these desired outcomes.
Why, then, aren't we more inclined to develop goals for ourselves?
These days, it's easy to feel overwhelmed by the multitude of choices confronting us. With so many things competing for our time and attention, how is it that some folks manage to accomplish so much?
The answer: Most successful people set goals for themselves and - more importantly - develop plans to achieve them.
Goal setting is an effective way to improve our chances of getting the results we want. Well-constructed goals provide direction for our activities. Without them, our actions tend to be governed by whim or the urgency of the moment, hindering us from accomplishing what is truly important.
By following these five simple steps for effective goal setting, we can overcome the hurdles that tend to get between us and our aspirations - and greatly improve our chances of success!
- Identify what you wish to accomplish.
The process of goal setting typically begins with the identification of productivity problems or opportunities for improvement.Goals that have the highest likelihood of being realized are:
- Consistent with your priorities
We each have our own set of priorities, or values, that are important to us. We will be significantly more inspired to work toward goals that support these priorities than those that hold no real meaning for us. - Consistent with each other
Conflicting goals compete for our time, energy, and resources - often resulting in failure and frustration. When goals are related, on the other hand, steps taken toward the fulfillment of one often bring us closer to another as well. - S.M.A.R.T.
This trite but useful acronym reminds us that specific, measurable, attainable, rewarding, and time-based goals have the greatest odds of being achieved. For more information and examples, please refer to the article Set Goals the S.M.A.R.T. Way.
- Consistent with your priorities
- Identify obstacles.
Once we've determined what it is we want to do, we must reflect on potential barriers that may be encountered along the way. It's important that we consider as many "what if" scenarios as possible, particularly those that are out of our control.
