Are SMART Goals SMART enough?

Imagine yourself achieving one of your more challenging and difficult leadership goals. It might be a successful joint venture, developing a new coaching program, creating better customer relations, having effective dispute resolution procedures ...

Imagine the sense of satisfaction you experience knowing that you have achieved this goal despite obstacles, setbacks and a constant stream of organizational crises.

Stop and write down one such challenging and difficult goal for your business or organization.

Would it be helpful to have a way of setting about achieving this goal that would give you a higher than average chance of success?

Most of us are familiar with the SMART goal formula: Specific; Measurable; Achievable; Realistic; Time-factored. Numerous studies have shown that people who use the SMART goal formula are more likely to achieve their goals than people who simply try to do their best.

However, recent research reported in the Academy of Management Journal indicates that there is an even more effective approach to goal setting that works particularly well when people are still learning to acquire the knowledge and skills they need to do their jobs and perform their roles. (Seijts, Latham, Tasa & Latham, Academy of Management Journal, Vol 47, No 2, April 2004)

Set learning goals

A learning goal is a goal that focuses on identifying and implementing a variety of different strategies to achieve the ultimate goal. Rather than set a specific performance goal – which might be to reduce stress related leave by 50% over the next six months — the manager would set a learning goal of identifying and implementing five or six different strategies to reduce stress in the workplace over the next six months.

In a business interactive simulation based on the history of the mobile phone industry in the US, 170 business students were randomly allocated to increase their market share either by doing their best; by achieving a 21% or more market share by the end of the simulation (a SMART goal); or by identifying and implementing six or more new strategies to increase market share by the end of the simulation (a learning goal).

At the end of the simulation only 9% of the student (15 out of the 170) had achieved a 21% market share. Of these 15 students, only one was from the group that was given the specific goal. Of the remaining 14, six came from the group that were told to do their best, and eight from the group that were told to identify and implement new strategies to increase market share.

How is this relevant to your performance?

Start by asking yourself whether the goal relates to a situation where the person or people involved already have the skills and knowledge to do the job, or whether it is a more complex situation in which people are learning to deal with new and unfamiliar problems. If it is the latter, then a learning goal is indicated as more likely to lead to high performance.

Some examples

• When setting goals for newly hired staff who are still learning the ropes, it may be more effective to encourage them to set learning goals rather than SMART goals.

• When faced with post-merger or post-acquisition situations, it may be more helpful to set learning goals while people are adjusting to the inevitable culture changes that accompany such events.

• When dealing with a diverse, multicultural workforce including several different social identity groups, learning goals may be more effective in reducing conflict and encouraging flexibility.

For more information on how to increase cooperation, collaboration and contribution in your workforce or organization through emotional intelligence coaching and leadership development, please contact .

Subscribe here - it's FREE

Transformasia Pty Ltd
ACN 097 139 725
Tel: +61 3 9525 3409
E-mail:
www.transformasia.com.au