ISSUES/CHALLENGES: Establishing the RIGHT SMART goals that both you and your manager (and the people you manage) believe moves your career forward AND help you get to the next level in your career

GOAL: Establish your own SMART goals related to your personal career plan, instruct your employees (if you manage people) on how to establish their goals, and set a date for discussing the goals with your manager and your people

WHY? This is the biggest reason people think they should get a promotion/bigger raise/bigger bonus but don't - they think they accomplished something but their manager doesn't. When people's expectations are mismatched, then there isn't agreement on whether a goal was achieved. And if there isn't agreement on whether a goal was achieved, then the resulting raise/promotion/bonus usually ends up not meeting someone's expectations either.

The reason the expectations are mismatched is because the goals aren't set properly. One person thinks the goal (and its measurement) means one thing while the other person has a totally different opinion. And, even more importantly, people establish goals that don't actually help them get to the next level.

1. Determine your career plan (JANUARY)

Most people jump right to establishing goals. Some people already know how to develop SMART goals. But the hiccup is whether you establish the RIGHT goals - goals that help you get to the next level, get ready for a promotion, put you on the path for your future promotion, etc.

Before you establish ANY goals, you need to find out what you need to do to get to the next level. That means setting up a time to sit down with your boss and discussing what skills he/she thinks you need to develop to advance your career (i.e., giving presentations, developing budgets or deal with customers). Listen to the January podcast or read the post on how to figure out the technical and developmental skills you need to help you advance.

2. Define SMART Goals

Now that you know what you need to do to get to the next level, think of goals that help you acquire and develop those skills.

For example, let's assume you are a senior marketing analyst and you are trying to become a marketing manager. Your goal might be to develop a marketing plan that gets approved and used by the company. Great. How is that goal being measured? Is it being measured by the date the plan is developed, or the date it is approved, or the complexity of the plan or the scope of the plan or the impact on the plan on the business? What if you develop a marketing plan but it fails (i.e., doesn't drive the business that was intended) or wasn't developed when your manager was expecting it or didn't include a social media strategy, digital strategy or other component?

Do you see what I am getting at? You need to be specific.

SMART GOALS are specific, measurable, actionable, realistic and timely.

Let's go back to the marketing plan. If you need to develop a marketing plan, then you need to define how success is measured:

1. First, define what needs to be included in the marketing plan (i.e., omnichannel, social media, digital marketing, etc.).
2. Second, define how it will be measured (what do you expect at the minimum vs what do you expect if you blow it out of the ballpark)

EXAMPLE:

Goal	Measurement	Minimum	Target	Maximum
Marketing Plan Development, Including KPI’s (key performance indicators such as online traffic, conversions, market share, # of subscribers, sales, etc.)	Date Approved and Implemented	Approved by October 2020 and implementation has begun. No KPI’s being measured or tracked	Approved by July 2020 with all aspects of plan in the implementation process. KPI’s being measured and tracked by September 2020	Approved by May 2020, plan fully implemented and KPI’s being measured and tracked

As you create the goal, ask yourself:
1. Am I being as specific as possible in the goal definition and its measurement?
2. Is the goal I created measurable? If so, how?
3. Is this actionable - can I do it?
4. Is it relevant? Did you pick a goal that isn't related to your career goals or the group's business objectives? If you decide to grow your group 50% but aren't allowed to hire anyone, it isn't a relevant goal.
5. Can this be accomplished in the allotted timeframe? What should the timeframe be?

3. Repeat this process for 3 - 5 goals

If you do more than 5 goals, your focus (or your people's focus) becomes diluted and the goal loses its meaning/importance. If you manage people, instruct them on how to establish a SMART goal, the process and your expectations.  Give them examples. 

4. Set a date to review the goals with your manager/people

If your company already has a process in place, ensure your goals meet these criteria so the definition is clear, how it is measured is clear and everyone is on the same page. Make sure you do more than "submit" your goals. Make sure you set a date to discuss them (that will be for February).

KEY TAKEAWAY

Really, there is so much here it could be divided into 2 months. Unfortunately, most goals are established in the first month so I needed to combine these two steps.

STEP 1 - Determine what skills you need to acquire to get to the next level (January)

STEP 2 - Establish the RIGHT SMART goals that show you are acquiring those skills

Good luck!