As managers, we set goals - for ourselves, for our teams, and for individual contributors. We make plans to reach these goals. However, it’s easy to overlook the critical step of communicating our goals and plans. Unless employees clearly understand the goal and their role in reaching it, the plan, however well conceived, is likely to fail. Truly effective managers know that setting clear, reasonable goals for their team is critical to accomplishing anything.
Managers often talk about goals that conform to their company’s mission statement or to their department’s general purview, which is usually very broad. Perhaps you’re in customer support and you define your goal as “solving customer problems.”
Okay, so far so good, but what is your plan? “Solving customer problems” is a great idea and a good general objective, but isn’t very helpful or meaningful as a goal for your team members. It doesn’t direct your employees to any clear individual action. What should they do?
In order for goals to be viable, they have to be actionable. One of a manager’s most basic jobs is to break down general objectives into goals and activities that the team, through the efforts of individual employees, can do. Managers must find ways to clarify and define goals to make them actionable.
One way to start making this happen is by using the following formula:
“To” + Action Verb + Specific Result + Time Frame
Using this formula, the general objective of “solving customer problems” might be broken down and restated as a clear goal: “reducing customer complaints by 5% by year end.” Then more specific plans can be made to reach that goal – and at year end, you will actually know whether or not you’ve reached it!
The five most important criteria to make a goal clear and actionable are encapsulated in the acronym SMART. These criteria are:
S: Specific – Keep your goal definitions short and simple. Use clear, concise language and avoid jargon, so that goals are easy to understand. Pinpoint your goals as much as possible.
M: Measurable – “Reducing customer complaints by 5% by year end” is a fairly clear goal. “5%” is a measurable quantity, and “year end” is a clear date for evaluation. You have something to shoot for, and will know unequivocally whether you have met your goal.
A: Achievable – Goals should be composed to meet your level of control over the situation. “Eliminating 100% of customer complaints” is probably not achievable, for example. Goals can be challenging, but must be within reach.
R: Realistic – Goals should be concrete, meaningful, focused on a real result, and not too broadly stated. It must also be something you are able to accomplish in the given time frame.
T: Time-specific – Create a deadline or time frame for each goal. Set a date when the plan will be completed or the results evaluated.
In any situation where you need to develop effective goals – whether for yourself, your team, or any individual team member – you would do well to make them SMART goals. If employees clearly understand the goal and their role in reaching it, the plan is far more likely to succeed.
If you create and communicate a goal that is specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-specific, everyone will understand what is expected, how it should be done, by whom, and when. Then you can enjoy watching your plan come together, instead of falling apart.
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