Goals That Stick — The Characteristics Of Effective Goals
By: Astha Singh
Tags: Performance, Business, Entrepreneurship, Management And Leadership, Performance Management

As a founder or a manager, one is accountable for ensuring that the employees produce results that align with the needs of the organisation. The stepping stone to achieve the desired effect to set the goals — effective ones.

Defining goals is critical because these goals define the results, and ensure the employees spend their time and energy on things that matter the most to them and your organisation.

The most common criterion used for defining goals is SMART — Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-Bound.

The SMART test constructs the goal appropriately; however, it may not mean that goal is valuable to the company or organisation.

Defining Effective Goals:

For the goal to be significant, challenging and congruent with the team organisation, consider the following criteria:

Well Aligned

The goal should be aligned with the needs and wants of the organisation. It ensures that the time and efforts of the employees do not go waste, and they focus their resources and energy on the work that matters the most.

2. Specific And Measurable

The goal needs to be precise and measurable for the simple reason that spelling out the details ensures that everyone is on the same page, and everyone knows someone reaches the defined goal.

3. Clear Deadlines

While defining the goal, it is highly advisable to include a target date so that the efforts focus on achieving the target in a given time frame, and this also increases the likelihood of the completion of the goal.

4. Achievable But Challenging

It is always a good idea to push the employees and force them out of their comfort zones. If appropriately defined, stretch goals help the employees to stay energised.

5. Future Focused

The defined goals should gear towards improving current importance while pushing future growth.

6. Tailored To The Individual

It is imperative to remember that each individual is different, and the goals are customised according to the individual’s skill set and capabilities. Also, when people are involved in setting objectives, they feel a sense of ownership which makes them even more committed to the goals.

7. Documented But Not Forgotten

Most of the organisations require employees to document the goals along with the timeline. But most of the times, it is more of a one time process. The objectives can fall off the radar till the next discussion, and meanwhile, they get buried under the day-to-day work. Therefore, it is vital to devise a way to keep these objectives in front of mind and regularly assess the progress.

Source Of Goals:

Each employee should have a set of goals that is in line with their role, skill set and development aims. The various sources for the employees to draw the objectives are:

Organisation, Department Or Team Plans And Strategies:

The employees should contribute to more significant priorities by considering the company’s broader objectives, and the team aims along with the individual’s goals.

2. Goals Linked To The Critical Job Description:

Some of the goals are evergreen, and others will evolve. A social media manager will always have the goal of increasing followers, but specific numerical targets will change from year to year.

3. Comments And Feedback From Previous Performance Review Discussion:

Performace gaps, strong skills to develop, or greater responsibilities make excellent goals. Performance Management is a continuous process, and these goals ensure employee’s ongoing growth or improvement.

4. “Cheaper, Faster, Better” Rubric

The goals can also be defined using the rubric “Cheaper, Faster, Better” described by Dick Grote in his book How To Be Good At Performance Appraisals which talks about how can an employee’s time and energy best be redirected to contribute to departmental or organisational success? In simpler words, how can expenses be reduced (cheaper) or less time spent (faster) while still improving quality (better)?

Stretch Goals — The Double-Edged Sword:

Stretch goals are objectives set that aim to push the employees and teams further than ever before. The goal is often assumed to be impossible or at least previously not achieved.

Stretch goals are a double-edged goal. When motivated, ambitious employees are pushed out of their comfort zone and may produce work even they were not aware they could. But when the goals become too unrealistic, the employees end up frustrated, unmotivated or demoralised. Worse, when faced with unrealistic targets, employees may cut corners or resort to unethical or illegal behaviours.

The whole idea of setting a practical goal is to stretch the employees but not break them.