SMART goals online

What is a SMART goal?

A SMART goal is a goal written so that it can be planned and followed up. The acronym brings together five criteria: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound.

It is attributed to George T. Doran, who published it in 1981 in Management Review. In coaching it is one of the most used tools for turning a vague wish —“I want more clients”, “I want to feel better”— into something concrete you can act on.

What it is used for in coaching

• Shaping what the client wants. It forces a move from a general intention to a concrete result.
• Knowing whether there is progress. A measurable goal makes progress visible session by session.
• Adjusting ambition. The achievable criterion opens the conversation about what is realistic today.
• Connecting with the reason. Relevance reminds the client why the effort is worth it when tiredness sets in.

The 5 criteria, one by one

S — Specific

What you want to achieve, said in a way anyone can understand. “Improve my business” is not specific; “get more one-to-one coaching clients” is.

M — Measurable

Which number will tell you whether you achieved it: from how much to how much. Having the starting point and the target lets you work out the pace needed.

A — Achievable

How possible it feels to the client with their current resources. A goal that is too easy does not motivate; an impossible one wears people down.

R — Relevant

Why it matters. A goal connected to the client’s values holds up better when things get hard.

T — Time-bound

By when. Without a date there is no urgency and no way to spread the plan over time.

From goal to action plan

A SMART goal says what and when; the action plan says how. It works best with a few concrete steps spread across the deadline, with a first step that can be taken in the next few days. When all the steps are bunched at the end, the plan usually fails for lack of time.

How to use it in session, step by step

1. Listen to the wish as it comes. Without correcting it yet.
2. Make it specific. Ask what exactly achieving it would mean.
3. Put numbers on it. Where they are today and where they want to get to.
4. Check achievability and relevance. From 1 to 10, and why it matters.
5. Set the date. And work out the pace needed together.
6. Build the plan. 3 to 5 steps spread out, with the first one this very week.

Examples: from vague goal to SMART goal

Powerful questions for each letter

• S: What exactly would achieving it look like? How would you describe it in one sentence?
• M: How will you know you achieved it? Which number would change?
• A: From 1 to 10, how achievable does it feel? What would raise it by one point?
• R: What do you want it for? What changes in your life when you achieve it?
• T: By when? What happens if you do not set a date?

Common mistakes

• Confusing the task with the goal. “Post on social media” is a step; “get 8 clients” is the goal.
• Measuring what does not depend on the client. “Talk to 20 people” is better than “get 20 people to hire me”.
• Dates without a plan. A date alone moves nothing if there are no steps spread over time.
• Leaving everything to the end. If the steps are bunched in the last weeks, the plan fails.
• Never reviewing it. A SMART goal gets adjusted with what is learned along the way.

Frequently asked questions