SMART Goals and Conflict Management

Howdy!

So this is my last blog post on SMART goal making! I know, so sad! Well, today I'll be talking about how making SMART goals can help in dealing with conflict management or prevention of conflict. Because let's be real, most people don't like conflict. Personally, I'm an avoider when it comes to conflict in the workplace or at school. However, it is important to have some conflict management skills because conflict will arise when you're around other individuals whether you like it or not. That's just how the world is. BUT, conflict isn't always bad! It can be bad, but not always. Sometimes conflict can be helpful in breaking free of groupthink or it can help you grow into a better leader. So let's get started!

Here's a few videos to show us some conflict! (Yes, I had a little fun looking for videos, so there's quite a few. You can watch them all or just a few; they're for you!)

(I apologize for the inappropriate remark at the end of this one!)

(For the dance lovers like myself!...Yeah, I found a few...)

This piece portrays conflict that is external rather than between 2 people.

(I'd just like to point out that Alex, the "patient," is a ballet dancer who's never done hip-hop...he's kinda legit.)

Another Abbott and Costello...because I like them :)

1938 performance of Who's On First

Seen enough conflict? Great! Now, I realize that the only example that gives a good way to deal with conflict is the cancer piece, I'm simply giving examples of different ways in which conflict can occur. Now, let's look at the ways in which conflict management and goal making are related.

According to Trudel and Reio, "Poorly managed...conflict affects the level and frequency of future conflict and has a negative effect on employee learning, productivity, and job performance. Recent studies suggest that interpersonal conflict in the workplace is associated with counterproductive workplace behaviors" (Trudel & Reio, 2011, p. 396). Obviously, it is important to manage conflict! When conflict and crisis occur it's better to approach with the knowledge that as an emergent leader (or any leader for that matter) this could be a good learning experience. It could be quite difficult, but it would be better to try to learn from it than let it sink you like the Titanic; don't let conflict become your iceberg. (Too soon? I'll never let go...) Anyway, conflict management...it's a great skill to acquire when you want to be a leader. But how does that relate to goal making?! Well, I'm getting there; patience is a virtue, son. Now, let's think this through. If you clearly state the intention of a goal, where it's going, the time frame it will be in, what everyone's responsibilities are, the specifics, and make everyone see how reasonable it is--how likely is it that there will be mass chaos? Not very likely! Will there still be conflict? Well, probably because that's how people roll. HOWEVER, you could prevent some major conflict by clearly and specifically showing your people the goal AND could later manage conflict by pointing people back to the stated goal (depending on what the conflict is) to get their focus back. (Eyes on the prize people!) 

A LOT of conflict occurs simply from misunderstanding, and people will fill in the gaps of their misunderstanding even if it is inaccurate. So when you have presented a goal that is specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound don't you think that would help quite a bit with conflict that could potentially arise from confusion or misunderstanding? That 's one of the purposes of SMART goals, it doesn't leave a whole bunch of room for miscommunication. Communication = good. Miscommunication/lack thereof = BAD!!!

So, as an overall summary: goals are important and we all make them; SMART goals are a good way to organize a goal (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, time-based); SMART goal making can help you in conflict prevention and conflict management (yay conflict management!) because no one likes conflict...except crazy people. (Just kidding, some people truly find it energizing...something I will never really understand...) Whether you are an emergent or a seasoned leader, conflict management and resolution are important skills to learn.

I really hope this has been helpful to someone out there. Now go out there and make me proud with your SMART goals and conflict management skill-building!

Happy goal-making!!!

Thanks and Gig'em!

Trudel, J., & Reio, T. r. (2011). Managing Workplace Incivility: The Role of Conflict Management Styles--Antecedent or Antidote?. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 22(4), 395-423.

T - Time-based

Howdy everyone! Today we are reaching the last letter in SMART; yay, we've made it! I'd like to review the letters we've covered so far and what they stand for. So far we have covered S for specific, M for measurable, A for attainable, and R for relevant/realistic. All of these elements should be present when you are creating a SMART goal.

Today we will look at the letter T which stands for time-based. This element of SMART goal making answers the question "when." Remember, this needs to be specific. The time frame must be aggressive while also being realistic. (See how all of the elements overlap?) So what does it mean to have a time-based goal? Well, here's a pretty cool video to demonstrate a time-based goal.

So what was his goal that he stated? Right, he said that he would paint a painting in a minute and a half or less. Now, this was not necessarily a smart goal in other aspects, but where time is concerned it was rather specific. And it seemed somewhat unattainable, but for this man it certainly wasn't! I thought that video was pretty awesome.

It's important to make your goal time-based because this goes along with attainability. If your goal isn't time-bound you may have trouble completing the goal. Why would it impede the completion of my goal, you may ask? Well, if a goal isn't time bound, you may not feel the need to do it or you may lose interest or procrastinate. Being time-bound is important because it gives you a deadline and therefore some degree of urgency. Remember, within every aspect of SMART goal is specificity so be very specific about when your goal is to be completed by. If the overall goal will take a rather long time (as can occur with businesses or scholastics) then make some smaller goals within the overall goal so that you are still making progress the entire time and not procrastinating.

I hope this has helped your understanding of making your goals time-based!

Happy goal making!!

R - Realistic

Hello again! Today we'll be talking about the fourth aspect of SMART goals: R for realistic or relevant. When making SMART goals, you should ask yourself whether or not this goal is realistic. Is this goal feasible? Is it attainable? A realistic goal should be challenging yet attainable within the given time frame. 

Today I'll give multiple examples and hopefully they help make more sense of our topic today. The first video is Abbott and Costello's "Crazy House" sketch. I love Abbott and Costello, so I'm excited to use them as an example! In this sketch, Costello is suffering from insomnia so Abbott decides to take him to a rest house. Little do they know that this "rest house" is more like an insane asylum run by the patients.  This is an example of an unrealistic goal. Enjoy!

I hope you enjoyed that sketch! Now let's talk about how this goal was unrealistic. First of all, the goal I am referring to is Costello attempting to sleep in this "hospital." Now, Abbott and Costello didn't know this was unrealistic, but it works anyway. As Costello attempts to sleep he has two men busting into the room and shooting a gun, he has a woman pour water on him as she "waters a bed of roses," a woman comes in picking apples from an invisible apple tree, and other ridiculous interruptions. Now ask yourself, is it feasible to sleep in that kind of an environment? Probably not. Is it challenging? Well, yes. But is it challenging while still being attainable? No, it's not. All in all, this goal of sleeping in the "nut house" is not realistic.

Okay, I tried and tried to find a video for a fun example of a realistic goal, unfortunately my search was in vain. Most that I could find were unrealistic, and any fun shows I could think of that did have realistic goals are not available on Youtube. So I'll just describe an episode of That's So Raven. The episode I'm describing is from season 3, episode one. It's called Psychic Eye for the Sloppy Guy. In this episode Raven makes it her goal to give the nerdy, sloppy guy in her class a make over. Since she's a fashionista, her goal isn't unrealistic while still being a challege. She uses her skills and voila! The sloppy guy becomes the best looking guy in school! Obviously, this is an example of a fun show but technically that's what the show What Not to Wear was all about, and those were actual people living their lives. (Yes, I know reality TV isn't real, but I love What Not to Wear so it's real to me.)

Here's the example we were given in class about a realistic/relevant goal: "I want to become proficient with sketching subjects at gymnastics in my sketchbook by drawing from direct observation and practicing different techniques for 30 minutes after school 3 days a week and evaluating my work with a rubric  to help me chart my progress." Whoo. Now that is a mouthful. This goal is extremely specific, but it is also relevant and realistic. The goal is challenging since the individual is not an artist (yet!) but it's also realistic since they will be practicing and tracking their progress within a time frame.

Well, that's all I have for you today; go out there and make some goals!

A - Attainable

Well, we are half way through the breakdown of SMART goals! Yay! So today we’re discussing the need for your goal to be attainable. The definition of the verb attain is, 1) to reach, achieve, accomplish, gain, or obtain; and 2) to come to or arrive at, especially after some labor or tedium. So for something to be attained, it also needs to be attainable. Attainable could also be described as feasible, obtainable, reachable, or possible. (On a side note, when using thesaurus.com, it also gives cherry pie and duck soup as synonyms of attainable. I’m not really sure why though...) 

Today I chose a much more enjoyable video, but also longer. It’s totally worth it though because it is an episode of Kim Possible! So take the time now to watch the episode of Kim Possible: A Very Possible Christmas and pay particular attention to Ron’s goal in the show and Dr. Drakken’s goal as well. (I also thought it fun considering the holidays are quickly approaching!)

Did you watch it? Great! So we’ll start with Ron’s goal in the show. He wants to give Kim the gift of family time by going to save the world from Dr. Drakken. Now, if you aren’t familiar with the show, Ron is basically the one who wreaks havoc, albeit innocently. He is basically Kim Possible’s sidekick. Funny enough about their names, if you don’t know the characters, Ron’s last name is Stoppable and the name suits him. The same goes for Kim Possible, who can do anything in the show. Great, so we have some basics. Well, considering Ron’s track record of getting in the way and causing more problems than were already present, would his goal of saving the world really be that attainable? No. Even though he’s in a TV show, Ron’s goal of doing Kim’s job is not an attainable goal. He does not have the skills to complete this job and ends up needing to be saved by Kim and her whole family. 

Let’s look at the second example. Dr. Drakken also has a goal in this show, and his goal is equally unattainable. Dr. D is attempting to take over the world. Now, this is a TV show where technically anything is possible, however Dr. D’s plans rarely work out because Kim usually finds a way to thwart his plan of world domination. So why does he keep attempting these unattainable goals? Looks like he needs some SMART goal training!

Now, all cheesiness aside, making your goal attainable is important. If your goal isn’t attainable you’re never going to reach it and therefore will only get discouraged. Making your goal to become president of the United States is pretty hefty when you’re a 20 year old still in college. Or making your goal to lose 30 pounds in a week; unhealthy and also unattainable. Choose goals that you can achieve, and maybe a long term goal could be president, but there are many many goals in between that should be focused on, like entering into the world of politics at a lower level. Having attainable goals will help your confidence and will help you to get things done, both of which will help you in other aspects of life. 

Happy goal-making! 

M - Measurable

So far we have discussed what Smart goals are in general and what the “S” stands for. Today we will talk about the next letter, “M.” As you may or may not remember, the “M” stands for MEASURABLE. It is very important that your goal is measurable, and remember that it needs to be specific as the “S” carries through the entire process. 

So what is measurable; what does that even mean? Well the dictionary defines measurable as something that can be measured. Well, that seems pretty obvious, so to measure something is defined as “the extent, dimensions, quantity, etc., of something, ascertained especially by comparison with a standard: to take the measure of a thing.” So measuring something will allow you to compare the progress of something against whatever the standard is. 

Whenever you are making your goal measurable you need to use a clear and concise “measuring stick.” You don’t literally need to use a ruler or meter stick, the point is that what is to be measured needs to be concise. For example, say you want to raise the percentage of sales in your store. Don’t just say, “I want to raise sales.” That is not clear and you won’t know when you’ve reached your goal. Instead say something like, “I want to increase sales by 18%” This is a clear goal and is measurable. One can look at this aspect of the goal and know how much sales will be raised and can work to attain that goal. As I’ve stated a few times already, the measurement needs to be the criteria used to know what success looks like and when you’ve gotten there.  How will you know when you’ve reached your goal? With the original, “I want to raise sales” you would never know what is too much or too little and you’ll never know when you have reached your goal because that goal isn’t measurable. According to Nikitina, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it” and I think that is so accurate. How will you overlook something that is not clear and concise? It will only cause frustration and confusion in the workplace, something that will be discussed in a later post. 

Another aspect of having measurable goals is that you can usually build in short term successes that will help you stay on track and will also keep up your stamina. It’s important that the goal is not forsaken, so working in little wins will help you and your people “stick with it.”

So what have we learned? Measurable goals need to have criteria so you know what to do and when to know you’ve reached the goal. The goal needs to be specific, even in this stage so that others will be clear on what the goal is and how to measure it. 

Until next time!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hea8D64RpGI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKMrWsjUOZQ

S: Specific

First I will give a brief explanation of what SMART goals are as a whole before diving into the aspects of “S.” The SMART goal-setting strategy holds much merit in the world of business, education, communication, and many other fields. The reason it is used is because it is a relatively simple format to use in setting good goals. Notice that I said good goals not just a general goal. One of the main purposes of this strategy is to create goals that are useful and attainable. According to Stoner and Stoner, “This approach asserts that goals would meet five conditions. Goals should be: (S) specific; (M) measurable; (A) attainable; (R) relevant; and (T) timely or time-specific. Keep in mind that these conditions must be assessed from the perspective of your people...Accordingly, careful communication that explains and clarifies each of the five conditions is a must. And, perhaps most important, put all of this in writing” (Stoner, 2013, p. 63). 

Now that we know what SMART goals are as a whole, we are going to dissect SMART and discuss each part individually. So we will start today with “S” for specific.

As stated, “S” stands for specific. This term actually encompasses the entire process and should be involved in every letter of the acronym. Specificity is one of the most important aspects of SMART goal-setting, in my opinion at least. Because without specificity, one cannot understand or will not remember all of the aspects of the goal. 

For “S” one will utilize the 5 W’s, which are: who, what, where, when, and why. The who can change because it could be yourself, or it could be someone else like a colleague or a business department. The what is the overall goal you’re trying to reach like raising your sales by _% or becoming a dancer. Where is exactly what it sounds like, where will you go to make this goal a reality. When is tied into time-specific, which is exactly what I was talking about when I said the “S” will encompass all the steps. Answering the question “why” is important because it gives a purpose behind the goal. No one wants to reach a goal that has no purpose behind it, most would find that to be a complete waste of time, energy, and resources. Therefore, the why is important. 

Another way to be specific, as stated in the video “How to set SMART goals” is to use a verb at the beginning of the goal such as increasing or decreasing. This creates a sense of movement or change, which is generally the aim of most goals. When setting a goal and aiming to be specific, one needs to consider the question: What movement am I trying to see or make happen? As Olsen says, “A good goal says what dial we’re trying to move.” 

As you can see, specificity is extremely important in goal-setting! Without a specific goal, you or your people won’t know what direction you’re going or how to get there and the purpose won’t be clear either. Specificity should be involved in every aspect of SMART goal-setting which is something we’ll need to keep in mind as we move through all the letters of SMART. 

Stoner C. R., Stoner J. S. (2013). Building Leaders: Paving the Path for Emerging Leaders. New York, NY: Routledge.

VIDEOS:
How to set SMART goals
SMART goals

Why Goals Are Important

Why are goals important? Well, let’s think of a few reasons that goals are important. First of all, everyone has goals; whether big goals, small goals, important goals or simple goals everyone has goals and is making more constantly. Another reason goals are important is that most people would like to be successful. Now, success is not extremely defined and is quite subjective, but for now that is alright; we will get more specific in later blogs. Since success is subjective though, people will have different opinions on what success is and how to get it. However, for now the point I am making is that most individuals desire success in some form. 

Goals are also important, or at the very least helpful, because they provide a sense of direction and eventually accomplishment. Why is this important? Well, a good majority of individuals legitimately desire a sense of direction because it is the feeling that one is fulfilling a purpose. I’ve personally never met anyone who did not want any purpose in their life. Of course, someone’s purpose could end up being not exactly edifying, but the fact remains that there is the desire for purpose. Accomplishment is important because apart from the fact that things are getting done, accomplishment leads to more confidence. Confidence is a good thing and is something I personally wish was more prevalent among our society. Now, understand that having confidence and being prideful are not the same thing. One can be very confident and sure of themselves and their work without being prideful or arrogant. I only want to highlight that difference because some hear confidence and immediately associate it with arrogance, and I do not believe that to be an accurate or fair association. 

I'll provide a quick intro on SMART goals in this blog and my next as well (as a bit of review so we don't forget our subject matter!). 

According to Day and Tosey:  Goal setting often employs the SMART framework (or similar heuristic), in which a goal is commonly designed to be specific, measurable, achievable/agreed-upon, realistic and time-based. The construct of SMART goals, targets or objectives appears to have originated in business and management contexts, having evolved from the ‘management by objectives’ movement...The SMART framework has become a popular means of focusing on performance at institutional, departmental, and individual staff and student levels (Day & Tosey, 2011, p. 517).

As you can see, SMART goals (and goals in general) are quite important and useful in our everyday, academic, or  professional lives! Goals are everywhere and we are almost always making them whether consciously or not, so we might as well be making smart goals (ha, see what I did there?). (Yes, I know I have cheesy humor; I like it that way.)

I have highlighted a short list of reasons that goals are important and I have also given a very brief info on the validity of SMART goal-making. To review, the reasons I have given are: 1) Everyone makes goals; 2) Most people want to be successful; 3) Goals provide a sense of direction; 4) Goals provide feeling of accomplishment which leads to confidence. Now that we have discussed the importance of goals and laid the foundation of this topic, future posts will focus on goal setting. The specific goal setting strategy I will focus on are SMART goals (duh). Each week, I will focus on one of the letters in the acronym so each aspect of this strategy will be clear and recognizable.

Day, T., & Tosey, P. (2011). Beyond SMART? A New Framework for Goal Setting. Curriculum Journal, 22(4), 515-534.