SMARTER Goals for Leadership Development

As a new leader, do you sometimes feel at a loss with all the changes and progress around you? If so, setting SMARTER goals will help you gain better control over the reins, evolve into a competent, reliable leader, and realize your full leadership potential.

SMARTER goals for leadership development are specific, measurable, actionable, risky, time-keyed, exciting, and relevant. They should be challenging, contribute to attaining long-term goals, and help bring out the best in you. They should help plot your professional and business trajectory. 

If you’ve been looking for ways to elevate your leadership game, today’s your lucky day! We will discuss SMARTER leadership development goals and the benefits of setting them early in your leadership journey. We will also briefly talk about the biggest mistake leaders make in goal-setting so you can avoid falling into the same plight, then I’ll offer some examples of SMARTER goals that can help give you a jumpstart on leadership development. 

What Are SMARTER Leadership Development Goals?

SMARTER goals are well-defined, challenging, stimulating, and practical goals that provide your business a framework to benchmark growth and success. SMARTER stands for:

• Specific: Goals should be clear and precise to avoid uncertainties and confusion. For instance, rather than saying, “To improve team performance,” be less vague by saying, “Achieve a 10% increase in month-end sales performance.”
• Measurable: Goals must be quantifiable so you can easily track your progress. Consider establishing precise metrics to work with. For example, instead of “To attract more customers,” say, “Close at least 5 new deals every month.” This way, you’ll know if you’re on track or you’re falling short of your objectives and need to tweak your strategies. 
• Actionable: Your goals must be achievable, and you should be able to effectively act on them. Actionable goals have practical value and are not purely theoretical. For instance, don’t just say, “Be a great mentor.” Instead, say, “Conduct one-on-one feedback sessions every Friday.” This lets you know exactly what needs to be done and how to achieve it. 
• Risky: Your goals should challenge you and have a high level of difficulty. They must require you to step out of your comfort zone. On the other hand, they shouldn’t be too lofty either, to the point that they’re already unrealistic — irrational goals may make you feel discouraged, frustrated, and overburdened.
• Time-keyed: Set a clear and reasonable timeframe for attaining your goals. Not having a deadline for your goals might make it seem like these crucial aspects are just being dragged on. Don’t just say, “Earn an extra $1,000,000.” Rather, set your goal as, “Earn an extra $1,000,000 within 6 months” to give yourself a sense of perspective and urgency. 
• Exciting: Your goals must excite you — their realization must be something you’re looking forward to. This will make you focus on your goals and avoid procrastination. Exciting goals will also keep you motivated and eager to get to work every day. 
• Relevant: Your goals should fit the bigger picture and must connect with the overall purpose. Relevant goals inspire you, make you love your job, and make you feel like you’re making a difference. They make you feel empowered to later on move on to bigger dreams. 

Is Goal-Setting Necessary in Leadership Development?

Goal-setting is necessary in leadership development to ensure continuous and efficient improvement. Without goals, you wouldn’t be self-aware and won’t have focus and direction. You may also suffer from a lack of motivation, disorientedness, and unrealized potential. 

The Biggest Mistake in Goal-Setting

Goal-setting can sometimes be tricky. If executed improperly, it can lead to disastrous consequences that may hold you back from realizing your full potential. 

Perhaps the biggest mistake in setting leadership development goals is the notion that all goals must be big. Some say that if your goals aren’t lofty enough to scare you, they’re not worth your while. 

Challenging yourself to go beyond your comfort zone can sometimes be highly beneficial, but other times, it can get to a point where you become so overwhelmed that you feel too intimidated to even try. 

Remember, small goals are just as acceptable, especially since they’re generally more achievable and are thus more motivating and inspiring. Rather than being too ambitious, you can break your big goals into smaller ones so they’re easier to manage. 

Think of it as similar to wanting to climb Mt. Everest. You won’t just go there one day and try your best to clamber up its tricky and challenging slopes — frankly, that seems like such a foolish thing to do. The smarter option would be to first conquer more viable peaks and gradually work toward scaling the most challenging heights. Only then should you start considering your readiness for Mt. Everest. 

Benefits of Setting SMARTER Leadership Goals

Proper goal-setting addresses these key aspects:

• Effective communication of leadership development goals clarifies what needs to be accomplished within a specific timeframe.
• Leadership goals are excellent measures of progress and create accountability in achieving the established metrics. 
• Leadership development goals compel you to focus on what truly matters, especially since it can be easy to lose sight of the essentials with so many distractions, challenges, and obstacles getting in the way. 

3 SMARTER Goals for Leadership Development

Leadership development doesn’t happen automatically, nor does it occur involuntarily. It’s a work in progress, where individuals need to continuously strive toward achieving the goals they’ve set for themselves to improve their knowledge, skills, and experiences. 

At Sancus Leadership, we can partner with you in identifying your SMARTER leadership development goals. When you’re ready to level up your leadership game, take the first step toward self-improvement by booking a free leadership call with us. Whether short-term or long-term, goals can help get you on the right path toward becoming the leader you aim to be.

Here are 3 SMARTER leadership goal examples that can get you started on the road to leadership development:

1. Foster Entrepreneurial Spirit and Integrity in Your Team

Leadership isn’t all about ticking the boxes and getting things done on time. Good leaders are also regarded by their team members as upright, trustworthy, respectable, and someone with integrity. A good leader believes in transparency and sees their team members as business allies, not just subordinates. 

When you lead with integrity, your actions and mindset will eventually rub off on your team members, creating a culture built around honesty, trust, and respect. 

SMARTER Goal

• Specific: Maintain open communication lines with your team members by including them in decision-making processes. Consult them before making big decisions that impact critical aspects in the team and encourage healthy discourse.
• Measurable: Develop 2 aspiring leaders within 6 months and prepare them for promotion by the 7th month. 
• Actionable: Conduct brainstorming sessions every Monday. Discuss pressing issues in the workplace. Make team decisions on relevant topics that need action within the coming week and assign group leaders per session. 
• Risky: Allow team members to share the spotlight with you, specifically for those who exhibit strong leadership potential. Learn when to take a backseat so you can better observe and train budding leaders. 
• Time-keyed: Explore the opportunities presented by artificial intelligence decision-making tools within the next 2 weeks. Utilize and examine at least 3 options: decision trees, decision matrices, and dashboards. Combine this with the 6-month training for aspiring leaders.
• Exciting: Identify potential leaders in the team, especially those who exhibit crucial core competencies like integrity, efficiency, and trust. Focus on building these aspects to prepare them for future leadership roles. 
• Relevant: Contribute to the organization’s proposed expansion by helping develop a credible, proficient leadership pipeline. 

2. Instill the Value of Teamwork and Collaboration

Leadership is not always about doing things yourself and making decisions on your own. You must be comfortable with delegating tasks to your team members because this empowers them and motivates them to always give their best in whatever they do. It’s also a great way to effectively manage your time and maximize available resources. Furthermore, task delegation helps improve team productivity.

SMARTER Goal

• Specific: Delegate specific tasks based on each team member’s strengths. 
• Measurable: Achieve at least a 10% increase in team productivity (compared to last month’s performance)to be measured by the number of tasks to be accomplished versus number of tasks actually carried out.
• Actionable: Conduct weekly team meetings to monitor progress and ensure everyone is on track with their specific tasks and objectives. The meetings will also provide opportunities to make adjustments when necessary. 
• Risky: It might seem disconcerting, but let go of the ropes every once in a while to train your team to be independent and remain functional and productive even when you’re not in the picture. Delegate critical tasks, such as presiding over meetings or taking charge of interpreting and discussing reports, to bring out the best in your team members. It’s also a great way to identify leadership potential. 
• Time-keyed: The 10% rise in productivity should be reflected by the end of the month and each succeeding month thereafter. 
• Exciting: Better teamwork and collaboration leads to higher productivity and a more engaged, inspired team. Each team member will feel empowered and will strive to consistently deliver high-quality results.
• Relevant: A boost in your team’s productivity will reflect in the organization’s overall performance. 

3. Establish a Mentorship Program

As a leader, you must develop a keen eye for potential within your team. As soon as you identify those who can move on toward taking on more responsibilities and leadership roles, be quick to train them, enhance their leadership competencies, and share with them your knowledge and experiences in your own leadership journey.

A great way to keep the best people in your team and attract new talent is through a mentorship program. Essentially, mentors are trusted, experienced leaders in the company eager to assist aspiring leaders as they journey through their desired career paths. 

SMARTER Goal 

• Specific: Identify team members with strong leadership potential and partner them with promising leaders willing to coach and mentor them. 
• Measurable: Establish metrics for mentors and mentees, focusing on key leadership competencies, such as critical thinking, problem-solving, decision-making, conflict resolution, ethics, and accountability. Make sure to note the effects of these competencies on the team’s performance — with a 20% increase in product sales by the end of the 2nd month.  
• Actionable: Conduct weekly meetings with each pair of mentor and mentee to track progress, listen to insights and suggestions, and monitor the agreed-upon metrics. Equip each pair with the tools they need to make the mentorship program a breeze — utilize graphs, charts, strategy maps, or decision trees to help make the execution of tasks easier.
• Risky: Mentorship programs may take time away from getting more things done in the workplace since mentors and mentees will have to divide their time between the program and their work responsibilities, but the risks outweigh the benefits. Besides, you can also use this time to foster the value of proper time management. 
• Time-keyed: Weekly progress checks with each pair of mentors and mentees must be conducted to ensure everyone is on track. This also gives the opportunity to air out insights, suggestions, and feedback. At least 50% of the mentees should occupy leadership positions within the company by year-end.
• Exciting: Mentors will enjoy a boost in their confidence levels when they’re given the opportunity to witness how their mentees progress in their careers. Mentees, on the other hand, will feel privileged to be mentored by top leaders, individuals who can be their role models in their professional growth. 
• Relevant: A mentorship program should coincide with the organization’s expansion plans. It’s a great way to retain your top talents and attract high-quality leaders from the industry.