Don KimPROJECT-TO-PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT EXPERT| Seeking opportunitiesSacramento, CA, United States
I think S.M.A.R.T. goals work best when you report to a micro-managing manager and can come to an agreement on the specificity of your performance goals or on projects where there are wide variations on what objective of the project's goals are that get clarified when smart-ifying them.
What do you think? Do people know when S.M.A.R.T. goals are smart and when they are actually dumb? Saving Changes...
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Bernard GorePortfolio, Programme & Project Professional| NZ PoliceWellington, New Zealand
I think quite the opposite - if SMART goals are set properly, they do not support a micro-management style, they set medium-long term checkpoints and allow you the flexibility to work towards these and avoid having every task along the way scrutinised in detail.
SMART goals can be dumb, but that is the failure of those who set and agree to them, not the method itself. Anything can be dumb if done badly! Saving Changes...
Mohamed SobairPrincipal Solution Architecture| FreelanceRiyadh, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
I personally see S.M.A.R.T Goals works best for all levels, not necessarily reporting to micro-managing Manager.
Micro-Management doesnt apply and fit for all levels, and it can be problematic if you perform this type of management to all levels.
for example, for non-managerial roles, S.M.A.R.T goals can be set and works best when you report to micro-managing manager.
& for managerial levels and above, applying Micro Management wouldnt be sufficient from my point of view.
At all cases, S.M.A.R.T goals has to be defined , validates, and can be measured of course it should also be aligned with the Objective and goals of the Strategic business of the Organization. if its not, then it can be dumb. Saving Changes...
Wayne MackRetired| RetiredSouth Riding, Va, United States
I agree with Don. Anything that can be accurately predicted in the SMART format tends to be so minor as to be unimportant. The truly important things are ongoing and continuous. They will never be reached and therefore do not adhere to any of the SMART principals, except perhaps Measurable and even that is not a given. Saving Changes...
Dave DavisSenior Project Manager| Cincinnati Children's HospitalSpringboro, Oh., United States
S.M.A.R.T. is one of several tools and is appropriate in many situations, but not all. I think it is important to distinguish between a performance objective and a milestone goal/objective. SMART is more applicable to operational MBO things, and less applicable to things like benefit realization targets. Saving Changes...
Michael AdamsSolutions Architect| LANLLos Alamos, Nm, United States
With my managers, we've tended to set SMART goals, and then revisit them mid-year. Inevitably, they change at that point. By the time the annual review rolls around, additional changes have happened, but I find that looking back on the goals gives me a sense of the direction I wanted to develop. My reviews are good, but based on what happened in our business, and how I performed in the face of those occurrences as they measure against the SMART goals. I think they ought to be used a guide posts, but not concrete criterion, at least not in IT work.
Conversely, when I was a construction lead, SMART goals were perfect! Saving Changes...
