One of the things that drive humans is the desire to be successful. No matter where people find themselves and what they are doing at any point, they would want to emerge successful in every endeavor. This desire to be successful is a beautiful thing. 

However, it is almost impossible for anyone to achieve a high degree of success without learning how to set goals. A goal gives individuals, organizations, and teams something to work towards to measure their success rate. It is impossible to know when you have gotten to your destination if the goal was not set at the onset. 

In the same, when organizations set goals, they hand their teams' specific targets that they are required to meet. Leaders must be able to set goals that align with the vision and mission. 

No one wants to get to a destination only to realize they are headed elsewhere. That is why being able to set goals that bring results requires a leader to be strategic and in their thinking. Organizations that can envision where they are going and set goals that align with the destination in mind will record a high degree of success.

Keys to Effective Good Goal

Beyond being able to visualize and articulate goals in line with the organization's vision and mission, it is critical to understand what makes a goal suitable and increases its chances of succeeding. 

While setting goals, ensure the following:

#1. That the Goal is SMART

SMART goals are a popular concept for goal setting, but very few people apply this when setting goals or using them correctly. While many people view SMART goals differently, there are no hard and fast rules for making your goals SMART. 

Your goals should be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-specific. Therefore, while setting your goals, ensure that they are well defined and leave no room for your team to doubt their direction. It should also be something that you can achieve, as setting unattainable goals will affect your team's morale.

The goals should be relevant to your organization's direction with key performance indicators that make it easy to track its success rate. Most importantly, goals should have a life span within which they are meant to be achieved. This life span can be long-term or short-term. 

#2. The Goal is Written Down

Writing down your goals makes it easier to track them. For example, some people set goals without writing them down, making it challenging to track such goals or even know when the goal is achieved.

Paste your goals in places where you can easily see them as you carry on with your daily activities. For example, you can frame it and hang it on your wall, in the break room, and in other places that people can easily view it. Subtly reminding yourself and your team of the goal using this medium helps build the morale required to achieve them.

#3. Have a Plan in Place

It is one thing to have a goal and entirely different from putting action to words. A well-laid-out plan allows you to break your goals into smaller chunks or milestones and cross them out as you reach each level. 

Trying to achieve an important goal can be overwhelming. However, research shows that individuals or organizations that break down their goals into smaller actionable plans experience more success with their achievements. 

Bottom Line

While it is essential to set reasonable goals, action, commitment, and discipline are required to achieve such goals. Therefore, the leader and their team must be willing to put in the work to see to the actualization of the set goals.