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Set SMARTer Goals

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Set SMARTer Goals

Many goals fail because they aren’t clear, don’t seem important or aren’t likely to happen when you need them to. The solution is to use SMART criteria to make goal setting, well, smarter.

SMART goals use a mnemonic acronym to guide the setting of objectives:

  • S = Specific
  • M = Measurable
  • A = Achievable
  • R = Relevant
  • T = Time-Bound

The first use of SMART criteria to describe goal-setting occured in the November 1981 issue of Management Review in George Doran’s article, “There’s a SMART Way to Write Management’s Goals and Objectives.”

Doran wrote that objectives should be:

  • Specific – They should target a specific area for improvement. Exactly what do you want to accomplish? Who, what, when and where?
  • Measurable – They should quantify or suggest an indicator of progress. How will you track your progress? How much and how many?
  • Achievable – They should aim for a realistically achievable result. Do you have what you need to achieve your goal? Is your goal too challenging? Is it too easy?
  • Relevant – They should be goals that matter. Does your goal matter to your supervisor, team and organization? Is your goal aligned with organizational vision and values?
  • Time-Bound – They should specify when the result can be achieved. When will you achieve your goal? What is your time limit?

How do your 2016 goals stack up against the SMART standard?

Make your goals specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. It’s a fact: SMART goals make goal setting smarter.

And that’s the Big Idea.

Resources


Source

“SMART Criteria,” Accessed August 20, 2015, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMART_criteria.

Stop, Start, Continue?

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Stop, Start, Continue?

What do you need to stop, start or continue?

Visualize the idea of making ministry adjustments as a traffic light:

  • Red = Stop
  • Green = Start
  • Yellow = Continue

Stop. At the top sits a red light, signaling the question: What do you need to STOP doing? If a ministry plan isn’t working or measuring up, then it’s something you need to stop doing. Recognize that doing something new can’t happen until you stop doing something else.

Start. At the bottom sits a green light, representing the question: What do you need to START doing? This is the question to ask when needs aren’t being met, when people can’t find a place or can’t get connected or when current ministry falls short with your church or community.

Continue. The middle light is yellow, asking the question: What do you need to CONTINUE doing? As you review your action plans, look for ministry that’s doing what it’s supposed to do and reaching the people it’s supposed to reach.

So what’s the Big Idea?

Evaluate ministry methods, strategies and plans with the stop, start or continue exercise:

  • What do you need to STOP doing?
  • What do you need to START doing?
  • What do you need to CONTINUE doing?

Resources

Energize Your Daily Routine

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Energize Your Daily Routine

In recent weeks as my family has moved from one city to another, my daily routine has been thrown completely out of sorts. Thankfully, that period is ending and I’m finally able to reassert some positive order on my schedule, my morning routine and my daily priorities.

I’ve already written about questions I ask myself every day, but there’s more to my schedule than that. So let me detail some personal growth steps I’m committed to take in my daily and weekly routine. Perhaps there’s something here that resonates with you. If not, brainstorm some ideas of your own.

Some intentional daily habits I’m building include:

Beyond those habits, I’m working on some vertical and horizontal focus points.

On the vertical side, I’m praying that God will:

  1. Fill Me (Control Me) with the Holy Spirit Each Day – Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. – Ephesians 5:18 (NIV)
  2. Lead Me to Rest Fully in Him Each Day – I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. – John 15:5 (NIV)
  3. Guide Me to Live Worthy of His Name Each Day – Live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God. – Colossians 1:10 (NIV)

On the horizontal side, I’m asking God to help me:

  1. Love Others Each Day – A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. – John 13:34 (NIV)
  2. Value Others Each Day – Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves. – Philippians 2:3 (NIV)
  3. Give Freely to Others Each Day – And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. – Hebrews 13:15 (NIV)

So what’s the Big Idea?

Build intentional daily habits with a personal growth plan and both vertical and horizontal focus points.

Resources

Celebrate the Win

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Celebrate the Win

The political thriller Argo portrays the successful rescue of six U.S. diplomats from Iran during the 1979-1981 Iran hostage crisis. With the leadership of the Canadian ambassador and support from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the escapees left Iran with agent Tony Mendez under cover of a fake movie production.

When Mendez returns to the United States with the American hostages, his success is celebrated with the CIA Intelligence Star. But there’s no fanfare and no official recognition. In one of the last scenes in the film, Mendez’ CIA handler, Jack O’Donnell, explains:

O’Donnell: You’re getting the highest award of merit of the Clandestine Services of these United States. Ceremony’s two weeks from today.
Mendez: If they push it a week, I can bring [my son] Ian. That’s his winter break.
O’Donnell: The op was classified so the ceremony’s classified. He can’t know about it. Nobody can know about it.
Mendez: They’re gonna hand me an award, then they’re gonna take it back?
O’Donnell: If we wanted applause, we would have joined the circus.

Mendez and his team had accomplished something no one thought possible, but they didn’t receive the credit and they couldn’t celebrate the win.

Celebrating success in many organizations feels a lot like a secret CIA operation. We don’t celebrate as publicly or as often as we should. But just like Tony Mendez, we have an emotional need to revel in our accomplishments.

So what should we celebrate? Celebrate team success. Praise individual accomplishment. Mark important victories. Celebrate the small things. Celebrate the big things. Find something to celebrate!

Consider a few ideas to get the ball rolling:

  1. Create a culture of sharing. Your staff team should feel the freedom to share when something is working. Encourage that in volunteer leaders and staff. If needed, prompt your team to start sharing with your own stories. Then, go around the table and ask them to share a win with the group.
  2. Share wins or stories in weekend services. Do it on video or in person. Focus on vision-aligned, values-focused stories that reinforce who you are and where you’re going.
  3. Celebrate success in one paragraph (or less). Attention spans are shorter than ever, and you have to contextualize for that when you celebrate the win. Practice the art of casting vision and celebrating success in one or two sentences. Provide links to the full story for those who want it, but summarize the win concisely.
  4. Celebrate success frequently. Frequency beats length any day of the week. Share less content more frequently to capture the attention of more eyes and ears.
  5. Recognize wins in weekly communication. This is usually some kind of digital or printed newsletter or weekly bulletin. Make that piece about more than announcements. Use it to tell short stories or report a significant accomplishment.
  6. Use your website to tell the story. Use video, blog posts and stories to keep everyone in the loop about your success. Link back to your site in social media posts.
  7. Use social media to celebrate the win. Be creative in the images and words you use. Remember that photos, videos, web links and hashtags increase engagement.
  8. Use photographs to celebrate success. Show people living out the organization’s strategic vision. Show them working, serving and preparing. Highlight volunteers and celebrate their service as they live out the organization’s vision and values.

So what’s the Big Idea?

We all have an emotional need to celebrate the win. Celebrate the small things. Celebrate the big things. Find something to celebrate!

Resources


Source

Terrio, Chris, Argo, Directed by Ben Affleck, Los Angeles: Warner Brothers Pictures, 2012.

Create a Culture of Accountability

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Create a Culture of Accountability

People and churches respond to accountability in one of two ways. Either they pull back from the prospect of increased attention or they embrace the opportunity to reach their potential and achieve better outcomes.

Many of us don’t have effective mechanisms for accountability in our personal and ministry lives. For one thing, accountability is difficult. We would rather not push people and staff—paid or volunteer—to go further, do more and be more strategic. Most people don’t naturally seek to do more than standard operating procedure requires.

It’s also true that accountability requires hard decisions and choices that many church leaders don’t want to make. It’s easier to kick the can down the road and hope for the best. But it usually doesn’t work out for the best.

A real culture of accountability can’t skip over any of the truly important things. It has to be practiced regularly and cover vital parts of Christian life and witness. Churches need staff ministers who are accountable for:

  1. Personal Spiritual Growth & Family Time
  2. Professional Growth & Development
  3. Organizational & Ministry Objectives

Consider whether ministry leaders in your church are held accountable for those things. If not, it may be time to consider a few adjustments.

How can you build traction for a culture of accountability? Start with:

  • Clear Vision and Values – Each staff member knows who you are and who you want to be. There’s no substitute for being on the same page. Accountability begins with clear vision.
  • Global Objectives – Each team member knows what you’re trying to accomplish and how you plan to get it done. With clear global objectives, the team is rowing in the same direction.
  • Ministry Objectives – Proper accountability can’t happen unless departments harmonize their plans with “big picture” vision, values and strategy.
  • Realistic Goals – Ministry goals should be achievable with available resources. It’s futile to expect outsized outcomes from insufficient resources.
  • Regular Interface – Ministry staff and volunteers need honest feedback and coaching. A coaching discussion with accountability should happen at regular intervals.
  • The Freedom to Make Adjustments – Ministry plans are written in pencil not pen. Because plans are adjustable, fear and anxiety about accountability is reduced.
  • The Freedom to Fail (and Succeed) – New initiatives and ideas are encouraged, even when they might not succeed. Expect that a certain percentage of new plans won’t go as planned.

So what’s the Big Idea?

Church leaders should be accountable for personal spiritual growth, family time and professional development, as well as church and ministry objectives. Build a culture of accountability in each of these areas with clear vision, realistic goals and regular interface.

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