Setting Goals that Motivate

We’ve all seen the SMART goals model – specific, measurable, achievable, relevant & time-bound.  All great things to think  about when setting goals for self or others.  The one that really stands out for me is achievable with hard work – if we create goals with too big a jump, they are no longer a goal but now a burden or hurdle, many will give up if the leap is too big. 

I’d like to share alternative SSMART model – which I first saw through Fire Up Coaching and have adopted as my go to model.

This model highlights the need to tell our brains what we want by using positive phraseology to teach it what we want to happen – to see and hear what success looks like.  All too often goals are set using terminology of avoidance – my goal is NOT to eat too much chokkie (my brain deletes the NOT and says yummmmm Chokkie!).   Imagine changing this to “I want to eat healthy unprocessed food” – teaching your brain and body to crave the right food.   Let’s look at SSMART goals. 

Stretch alongside specific.  A goal should stretch our capabilities, allow us to feel discomfort without overwhelm.  The stretch should still be written in specifics to give us direction and growth whilst allowing us to make smaller steps to get where we want to be. 

Motivating is the driver. It’s all very well to create a goal that is measurable but if it is not going to excite us as we learn, stretch and deliver then are we really going to do it?  It’s about tapping into our passion to succeed and do our best work. 

Action oriented and Achievable – both so very important.  WE need to know what we have to do to achieve the goal and know if we work hard at it, that we can succeed.  The beauty is in the effort we need to put in to stretch to get it done.

Rewarding and Relevant – we need to know why the goal is relevant so that we get the reward of satisfaction in our achievement once completed.  For me if I’m not jumping up and down with excitement when I achieve my goal then I haven’t stretched far enough.  We all have an achievement drive (it’s one of our emotional intelligence competencies) and if we don’t feel like rewarding ourselves for the effort then I’m not sure the relevance was really there?

Today / Tomorrow Focus – I agree we need to be time bound to complete our goal, however, from researchers we know that the first step towards achieving a goal is often the hardest.  If we can set the goal and make our first steps happen on the day or the next we are much more likely to succeed. 

In summary if we can visualise what successful completion of a goal will offer us, how it looks, feels and will change in our lives we are more likely to act on our goals rather than write them down for appraisals and then put them in the kitchen drawer!

There is power  in the emotion that tethers our action to our desired goals – help your team prepare themselves for success through their own motivating goals.  Last comment here is that if we allow others to create their own stretch goals, support them, challenge them to stretch a little further, we then get to celebrate and be their champion when they achieve! 

 Next post we’ll look at Succession Planning.

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Mid-Year Performance Conversations coming up?

 Performance appraisals can be harrowing for leaders and team members alike.  Kreating New Collaborations would like to invite you to reach out and learn about small bite Lunch’N’Learn, or Morning Boost  opportunities.  Set your team up for success learning delivered virtually or in person. 

Learning Bites include:

• Effective Feedback – using our BICK model to drive 2-way focused interactions

• Setting Goals – setting goals that motivate, reward outcomes and energise

• Succession Planning -  identifying future leaders and setting them up for success and growth

• Influential Communication – influence outcome by gaining buy-in and enthusiasm to create accountability and best outcomes

• Building Resilience and Avoiding Overwhelm – helping teams keep energised, focused and in control

• The power of emotional and social intelligence to create positive workplaces