Origins
The acronym SMART was proposed by George T. Doran in There's a S.M.A.R.T. way to write management's goals and objectives (Management Review, 1981). In the original, letters stood for, among others, assignable and realistic; the most common version today is:
| Letter | Meaning | Check question |
|---|---|---|
| S - Specific | concrete | What exactly do we want to achieve? |
| M - Measurable | measurable | How will we know we've succeeded? |
| A - Achievable | attainable | Is it realistic with our resources? |
| R - Relevant | relevant | Does it serve our mission and vision? |
| T - Time-bound | time-bound | By when? |
Example
- Vague goal: “Develop our animators”.
- SMART goal: “By 30 June each of our eight animators will lead at least two group meetings on their own and review them with a mentor”.
Scientific basis
Behind SMART goals stands Edwin Locke and Gary Latham's goal-setting theory: specific and challenging goals lead to better performance than vague ones (“do your best”), provided people are committed to them and receive feedback on progress (Locke and Latham, 2002).
Limitations
- Not everything that matters can be measured - especially in spiritual life and relationships.
- Overly narrow goals can encourage “hitting the metric” at the expense of meaning.
- “Achievable” should not mean “safe” - a vision also needs big, bold goals.
SMART goals are useful when delegating, in the final stage of the GROW model and when translating a vision into a yearly plan.
Sources
G. T. Doran, There's a S.M.A.R.T. way to write management's goals and objectives, Management Review 70 (1981) E. A. Locke, G. P. Latham, Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation, American Psychologist 57 (2002)