SMART Goals? Not So Much.

 

How many of you depend on the SMART goal (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely) tactic for improving performance? A large number, I'll wager, no matter what other type of performance system is in place. It makes a lot of sense. Who would not want goals that met those criteria?

Unfortunately, such goals do not work as well as described and typically used. The evidence is overwhelming in the literature, it just has not filtered down to how workers are managed.

Kenneth M. Nowack, Ph.D, in his article, Urban Talent Myths Exposed in (Talent Management Magazine), explains that, as recently as 2012 there was a study of workers that found that 15% strongly agreed that their goals helped them "achieve great things." That fact shows there is a gap between the ingrained beliefs behind goal-setting performance management programs and what actually is effective.

This blog focuses on helping you get past these kinds of misconceptions by reviewing actual science that helps us understand what really works. So let's look more closely at the evidence. According to Nowack, "nearly 200 published studies…have shown that deciding in advance under what conditions you will plan to implement a new behavior can significantly increase your chances of actually doing it." This is the missing piece of the puzzle, the technique that will make goals more effective than they are now.

The technique, according to Nowack is to plan performance improvement in this way:

“If situation X occurs, then I will initiate behavior Y to reach goal X.” This takes an extra level of planning effort than just coming up with SMART goals, but is very practical.

Given this, what are you to do to improve performance in your project?

• Use the technique yourself. For those performance gaps you have, create statements using the structure above, keep them handy and at "top of your mind" and follow them.
• Now that you have experience using the technique, explain it to others.
• Communicate the technique as a tip for your workforce. It's not that difficult to explain and when everyone does not report to you, it a way to improve performance using your influence.
• Use this technique in your coaching. It should not be difficult, as it is usually specific situations that cause you to coach in the first place when you are a project manager. These situations are "Situation X" in the structure above. An example of how you would coach a less-experienced team lead:
  "When we are in the weekly meeting to report updates on tasks, if you give just basic information on percent complete and wait for follow-up questions before providing extensive background information, I could use that as an example for your manager of your improvement in working in projects."

However you use the technique, be proud of the fact that you may be a step ahead of other leaders and even the human resource professionals in your organization. And that, project managers, is smart.