SMART goals for leaders: clear examples that work

Smart goals for leaders are goals written so clearly that anyone can tell, on a set date, whether you met them. The idea is simple. A vague aim like "improve the team" becomes a plain sentence with a target, an owner and a deadline. The new year is a good time to try it.

Where the idea came from

The SMART label comes from George T. Doran, a management consultant. He wrote about it in the November 1981 issue of Management Review, in a short article on how to write management goals and objectives. His point was that many goals fail because nobody can say what they mean.

The idea sits close to management by objectives, a method Peter Drucker described in the 1950s. In that method, managers agree on clear goals with their teams and then check progress against them. Doran gave leaders an easy checklist for writing those goals well.

Sources: Doran, G. T., Management Review, vol. 70, no. 11, November 1981, pp. 35 to 36; Wikipedia, "SMART criteria" (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMART_criteria); Wikipedia, "Management by objectives" (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Management_by_objectives); Drucker, P. F., The Practice of Management, 1954.

What the five letters mean

Doran's first list used these words: specific, measurable, assignable, realistic and time-related. Many courses today swap in "achievable," "relevant" and "time-bound." The wording changes a little, but the meaning stays close.

Here is a plain way to read each letter.

Specific. Name one area you want to change. "Better sales" is loose. "Win back customers who left in the last year" is specific.

Measurable. Pick a number or a clear sign of progress. Count it the same way each time.

Assignable. Say who owns the goal. If everyone owns it, no one does.

Realistic. Check that your people, time and budget can reach it. A stretch is fine. A fantasy is not.

Time-related. Give it a date. A goal with no date is only a wish.

Sources: Wikipedia, "SMART criteria"; Doran, G. T., Management Review, November 1981.

Before and after examples

The best way to learn this is to see weak goals fixed. Each pair below shows the same aim, first vague and then clear.

Vague: "Improve customer service." Clear: "Cut the average reply time to customer emails from two days to one day by 31 March, owned by the service manager."

Vague: "Build a stronger team." Clear: "Hold a 30 minute one-to-one with each of my six direct reports every month, starting in January, and note one action from each."

Vague: "Grow the business." Clear: "Sign five new regional distributors by 30 June, with the sales director leading."

Vague: "Be a better leader." Clear: "Ask my team for written feedback on my meetings in February, and change one habit by April."

Notice that none of these needs fancy words. Each one has an action, a number and a date.

How to write your own goal in four steps

Start with the result you want in one rough sentence. Do not worry about polish yet.

Next, add the number. Ask, "How will we know?" If you cannot count it, find a sign you can observe, such as a signed contract, a finished report or a survey score.

Then add the owner and the date. Write both into the sentence itself. Put the goal where the team can see it.

Last, read it out loud to someone who was not in the room. If they can explain it back to you, it is clear enough. If they cannot, trim it and try again.

Common mistakes to avoid

The first mistake is writing too many goals. Three to five for a quarter is plenty. More than that, and the team loses focus.

The second is picking only what is easy to count. Some good goals, such as trust in a team, are harder to measure. Secondary accounts of Doran's article say he did not require every objective to be numbers, especially for middle managers. In those cases, use a clear sign you can observe, and say so.

The third is setting a goal once and forgetting it. Put a short review in the calendar each month. Ask what moved, what blocked it and whether the goal still makes sense. Change the plan, not just the excuse.

Sources: Wikipedia, "SMART criteria," summarising Doran, Management Review, November 1981.

A simple checklist to keep

Before you share a goal, ask five quick questions. Is it about one clear thing? Can we count it? Does one person own it? Can we reach it with what we have? Does it have a date? If the answer to all five is yes, you have a goal worth working on.

Smart goals for leaders do not guarantee success. They do make it much easier to see what is working, and to talk about it honestly with your team. Pick one goal this week, write it in a single sentence, and share it.