SMART Goal Setting SMART is the instrument to apply in setting your goals and objectives. The instrument is not only applicable in a leadership

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1 SMART Goal Setting SMART is the instrument to apply in setting your goals and objectives. The instrument is not only applicable in a leadership environment, but can also be applied in your personal life, at the office and in doing planning. S - Specific It is important to remember that a goal or an objective cannot be too general in nature. A goal or an objective must be to the point. It must define a specific outcome. A goal set as: "We want to increase our academic standing." is too vague. What are the specifics of this goal? Do you want to achieve a chapter GPA above a.0 by the end of the Spring? By the end of the Fall? Do you want to increase the chapter GPA above the All-Women s GPA? A specific goal would be: "We want to raise our average chapter GPA above the All-Women s GPA. M - Measurable Any goal or objective must be measurable. If individuals can experience success in reaching a goal, it will lead to motivation and determination to do more or to do better. If we take the goal as stated earlier: : "We want to increase our academic standing." Yes, it is measurable in the aspect that it can be evaluated at the end of the year, but you need to state how much you want to increase the chapter academic standing. For instance you might want to restate the goal to read: "We want to raise our average chapter GPA above the All-Women s GPA. A - Attainable It is important to know your capabilities. Any goal or objective must be within reach. The chapter must be able to attain what you set out for them to achieve. If it is not achievable by them, it will lead to negative experiences and at the end lead to low self-esteem and a lack of motivation to try again. R - Realistic The measurable parts of a goal must NEVER be too easy or too difficult. If the chapter GPA is currently a. and the All- women s GPA is above a.0, it may not be realistic to expect the average chapter GPA to increase by over one- half point in one term. You may be able to break larger goal into smaller objectives: "At the end of the Spring, we would like the chapter GPA be at least.."and "By the end of the Fall term, we would like our average chapter GPA to be at least a.0." and so on. Breaking the goal up gives the chapter more chances on reaching success and to make adjustments and, in due time, will facilitate the final goal. T - Time bound Every goal or objective must be linked to time. If there is no time bound to it, there are no deadlines. On the other hand, executive officer terms only span one year. Thus, if you don t set a deadline for your goals, you may not meet your goal by the time you leave office. It is important to work according to deadlines, because it makes it easier to measure and to determine success. Time must be measurable, attainable and realistic. Setting Your Task What is a Task? A task is the smallest increment of carrying out your goals. It's the thing that must be done daily or weekly. Let's look at and example of what a task might be for a specific goal. Task example GOAL: Raise our average chapter GPA above the All-Women s GPA by the end

2 of the Spring Term TASK: Set up tiered study tables as follows... by the st of February. TASK: Have chapter members fill out academic goal cards at the next chapter meeting. TASK: VP Mental will meet with all members of academic probation every two weeks to discuss their progress. Why Prioritize? O.K. Now you have this great plan. What do you do next? Priorities are the most important part of carrying out a plan. You could create a great set of goals and tasks, but they are of no use to you unless you implement them. Setting priorities will help you accomplish your goals by determining what should be done first. You'll also find that priorities will help you organize your day. What is Prioritizing? Prioritizing is the process of determining what is the most important thing for you to do. Items that need prioritizing can be done on a daily, weekly, monthly or annual basis. A priority list is really just a numbered "to-do" list. Prioritizing your Goals & Tasks If you selected more than one goal, you'll need to ask yourself which is the most important to you. Look at your task list for the goal that you chose as number. Select the one task that you feel will help you reach your goal quickest and number it. Continue for the remainder of the list. From here go back to your second highest priority goal and prioritize that task list. Continue until you are finished with all goals. You now have a list of "to-do" items that will help you achieve your goal. What Next? You know have a list of "things-to-do". If you want to succeed, you must routinely carry out your task. That's the bottom line. You may ask yourself, "How do I do all of these things routinely and do all my job or school work?" It is important to practice good time management. Do not put off tasks until the last minute. Do them as soon as practical. "What about things that come up at the last minute on the job or at school?" This happens to everybody. It's nice to have a plan until a boss or teacher throws a wrench into the plans. Be prepared to re-prioritize during the day or make emergencies part of your plan. However, once your reassess, get back to your goals as quickly as possible.

3 Goal Setting Sheet - General Present to Goals that will enable improvement or growth & give each goal the S.M.A.R.T. check: 0 Goal Setting Sheet Fraternity Heritage Present to Goals that will enable improvement or growth & give each goal the S.M.A.R.T. check:

4 0 Goal Setting Sheet Fraternity Orientation Present to Goals that will enable improvement or growth & give each goal the S.M.A.R.T. check: 0 Goal Setting Sheet - Academic Achievement Present to Goals that will enable improvement or growth & give each goal the S.M.A.R.T. check:

5 0 Goal Setting Sheet - Financial Present to Goals that will enable improvement or growth & give each goal the S.M.A.R.T. check: 0 Goal Setting Sheet - Rush/Membership Present to Goals that will enable improvement or growth & give each goal the S.M.A.R.T. check:

6 0 Goal Setting Sheet Campus & Community Present to Goals that will enable improvement or growth & give each goal the S.M.A.R.T. check: 0 Goal Setting Sheet Social Events (Including Risk Management) Present to Goals that will enable improvement or growth & give each goal the S.M.A.R.T. check:

7 0 Goal Setting Sheet Risk Management (Other than Social Events) Present to Goals that will enable improvement or growth & give each goal the S.M.A.R.T. check: 0 Goal Setting Sheet - Philanthropy Present to Goals that will enable improvement or growth & give each goal the S.M.A.R.T. check:

8 0 Goal Setting Sheet - Housing Present to Goals that will enable improvement or growth & give each goal the S.M.A.R.T. check: 0 Goal Setting Sheet Interest Groups Present to Goals that will enable improvement or growth & give each goal the S.M.A.R.T. check:

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