Monday, December 14, 2009

SMART


Many organizations get confused this time of year. A management ritual in December is to summarize the accomplishments of the team and start preparing annual performance reviews. We all want to be fair and reasonable. Some managers find it challenging to inform teammates they are anything other than fully competent. At same time, if the objectives are underclear or easy enough, anyone deserves a high rating.

I, on the other hand, have always felt December to be the most important month of the year because it sets the tone for the rest of the year. The team should dedicate quality time setting robust goals, definitions and metrics to be used the next twelve months. The S.M.A.R.T. criteria are well documented and have stood the test of time. (SMART = Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Relevant, Time phased). When leadership spends time creating buy-in and understanding, the next 12 months go much more smoothly. It also allows the team to perform self performance reviews. The facts and data will speak for themselves.

Does your leadership take the time to mutually develop robust goals with you annually? Do each meet the SMART criteria?

2 comments:

Suman said...

I was wondering if you were doing anything about job creation on a mass scale since you have mentioned that December is a time for goal setting. I would love to discuss with you about it.

Personally I think firing people shows incapable management, its management exposing their inability to pick or align people.
Also, in my option, attrition is a direct review of management stating the person does nto want to work for the manager.

You can write to me personally through linked in when you get a chance. Have a great day, Merry Christmas and a Happy New year!

Nagesh said...

I appreciate the way you defined the S.M.A.R.T. criteria (SMART = Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Relevant, Time phased). I too do blogging about leadership. You please visit my blog and share some more about leadership.

Nagesh

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