What Does SMART Stand For? - Free Management eBooks

SMART is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time Bound. One of the most common mistakes that is made when goal setting is being too ... 0 WhatDoesSMARTStandFor? Goalsareagreatwaytokeepagroupofpeoplemotivatedandfocusedonaspecificoutcome.Withouthavingagoalinmind,itiseasytogetlostinthedaytodaybustleoflifeandneverreallymakeanyprogress.Managersshouldsetgoalsfortheirteamstoensurethattheyareworkinginthesamedirectionandthatallmembershaveaclearvisionofthedesiredoutcomesoftheproject. Settinggoalsforateamisnotnecessarilyaseasyasitseems.Youneedtosetgoalsthatareinlinewiththeabilitiesofyourteammembers,andwithinthescopeoftheprojectandthebusiness.Goalsthatdon’tmakesenseorareunrealisticwillbecomemoreofapointoffrustrationthanmotivation.Havingtheskilltosetpropergoalsforateamofemployeesisoneofthehallmarksofagoodmanager. Inlearningtosetgoalsasamanager,tryusingtheSMARTsystemtoevaluatethegoalsyouhavesetandadjustthemasnecessary.So,whatdoesSMARTstandfor?SMARTstandsfor– S–Specific M–Measurable A–Attainable R–Realistic T–Timely Let’stakeacloserlookateachofthesepointsandseewhytheyareallvitaltosuccessfulgoalsettinginamanagementenvironment. Specific Oneofthemostcommonmistakesthatismadewhengoalsettingisbeingtoobroadinscope.Considertheexampleofateamofsalespeopleinadepartmentstore.Abadgoalwouldbeto‘Sellasmuchproductaspossiblethismonth’.Whilethatisobviouslytheideaofhavingastore,itisn’tspecificenoughtokeeptheteamfocusandmotivated.Amuchbettergoalwouldbe‘Sell25%moreproductthanthismonthlastyear’.Thatgoalgivestheteamaspecificnumbertolookatandwillhelpkeepthemontrackforsuccess. Measurable Justaswiththeexampleabove,measurablegoalsarebetterthanambiguousones.Ifweweretocontinuethatscenario,themanagercouldlayoutaspecificdollaramountofsalesthatisneededonadailybasistoachievesuccessattheendofthemonth.Itiseasytomeasuretotaldollarsofsaleseachday,sotheteamwouldhavenotroublefollowingalongwithhowtheyaredoingandcouldmakeadjustmentsalongthewayifthenumbersarefallingshort. Attainable Anotherofthecommonpitfallsthatcatchmanagerswhensettinggoalsisaimingtoohigh.Forinstance,sayingthatourgoalisto‘increasesales300%overthesamemonthlastyear’isprobablyanunattainablegoal.Ratherthanmotivatingtheteam,agoallikethiswilldiscouragethemrightfromthestart.Themanagerneedstobeabletoassessthecurrentstateofthebusinessenvironmentandsettleonagoalthatstraddlesthelinebetweenoptimisticandimpossible. Realistic Thisgoesalongwiththepreviouspointregardinggoalsbeingattainable.Realisticgoalswillbebelievabletotheteammembersastheysetabouttheirwork.Forthemanagertohaveandkeepcredibilitywiththeteam,heorshemustsetrealisticgoalsonaconsistentbasis.Theemployeeswillquicklytuneoutthemanager’sgoalsettingiftheyarealwaysbeingtoldtoreachforplateausthatarenotgoingtobeachievednomatterwhateffortisputintotheproject. Timely Havinggoalsthataretoolonginscopeisacommonmistakethatendswiththeteamlosingtrackofthegoalaltogether.Apropergoalwillbelongenoughsoastohavetimetoplayout,butnotsolongthatitisforgottenabout.Inthesalesexampleabove,amonthseemstobeanappropriateamountoftime.Ifthatwerechangedtosixmonths,forexample,theteamwouldverylikelystopcaringaboutthegoalatsomepointanditwouldjustfadeaway. Goalscanbeavaluablemotivatingandfocusingtoolwhenimplementedinthepropermanner.AgoodmanagerwillusetheSMARTsystemtocraftgoalsthattheteamcangrabontoandreallystrivetoconquer.Bymakingsurethatallfivepointsinthissystemarecoveredwithinanygoalthatisset,themanagerwillbewellonthewaytoasuccessfulteamendeavor. SMARTGoalsTemplate ThistemplatewillenableyoutotestthegoalsyouhavebeensetorhavegivenyourselfagainstthefivecriteriaoftheSMARTmethod. PDF&Doc GoalSettingeBook ThiseBookexplainshowtousethetheoryofgoalsettingtosetpracticaltargetsforyouandyourteammembers. ISBN978-1-62620-980-0(32Pages)PDF,Kindle&ePub KeyPoints SMARTisanacronymforSpecific,Measurable,Attainable,Realistic,andTimeBound. Oneofthemostcommonmistakesthatismadewhengoalsettingisbeingtoobroadinscope. Justaswiththeexampleabove,measurablegoalsarebetterthanambiguousones. Goalsshouldbeasspecificaspossible,evenifthismeansbreakingthemdown. Ifagoalisnotmeasurable,itisnotpossibletoknowwhetherateamismakingprogresstowardsuccessfulcompletion. Anotherofthecommonpitfallsthatcatchmanagerswhensettinggoalsisaimingtoohigh. Agoalneedstobeachievable,butatthesametimeitmustnotbetooeasy. Agoalthatsupportsorisinalignmentwithothergoalswouldbeconsideredarelevantgoal. Havinggoalsthataretoolonginscopeisacommonmistakethatendswiththeteamlosingtrackofthegoalaltogether. Atime-boundgoalisintendedtoestablishasenseofurgency. Today'sTopPicksforOurReaders:Recommendedby FreeProductivitySkillsResources SeethefulllistofProductivitySkillseBooks,templatesandchecklistsavailableforfreedownloadrightnow. ClickHere! GetOurTop10ManagementTemplates StayuptodatewiththefreeeBooksweaddtothissiteeachmonth. 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