Are you clear about what your main objective as a Phi Theta Kappa officer is at the moment?… Do you know what you want to have achieved by the end of today? the week? the month? the semester?
To answer these questions, you need to set goals, and break the big goals into smaller steps that are milestones on your journey to completing the goals. Knowing your goals and identifying the milestones gives you focus and direction. Perhaps more importantly, goals provide you with benchmarks for determining whether you are actually succeeding. For example, a million dollars in the bank is only proof of success if one of your goals is to amass riches. If your goal is to practice acts of philanthropy, then keeping money in a personal bank account is not success.
Effective goal setting is different than just specifying what you want.
A chapter officer who says “I want us to be a Five Star Chapter,” or a regional officer who says “I want us to have a regional Honors in Action project” has not set a goal, just voiced a desire. Goal setting is a process that starts with careful consideration of what you want to achieve (the desire), ends with a lot of hard work to actually do it, and in between there are some very well-defined steps that transcend the specifics of each goal. Knowing these steps will allow you to formulate goals that you can accomplish.
Golden Rules of Goal Setting:
Rule #1: Set Goals that Motivate
When you set goals for yourself, your Phi Theta Kappa chapter, or your region, they need to be goals that are important to you, to the chapter, or to the region, and everyone must realize the value in achieving them. People must be interested and vested in the outcome and the goals need to be relevant or no one will want to put in the work to reach the goals.
Another way to approach this is to think about the high priorities in your life, the chapter’s development (talk to the advisor and your college administration), or the state of the region (talk to your regional coordinator) and set goals that relate to the priorities. This creates focus for the goal setting process so you don’t end up with too many goals. It also creates a sense of urgency and “must do/can do” spirit. Without focus, urgency, or the attitude that the goal must be achieved, it’s easy to procrastinate or dart around to different projects which can lead to disappointment and frustration that you aren’t accomplishing anything. These are de-motivating feelings that can be destructive for a person’s psyche, or a chapter or regional officer team.
When exploring a particular idea for a goal, write down why it’s an important, valuable objective and consider how you will convince others that it is a worthwhile goal. A few sentences that can be printed on each meeting agenda or each progress report about the goal can help maintain focus and urgency.
Rule #2: Set SMART Goals
You have probably heard of “SMART goals” already. There are many variations on what SMART stands for, and here is a quick synopsis — Goals should be:
Specific, simple (clearly understood)
Measurable (you will know exactly when it is attained)
Attainable, accountable (can be done, and people to do it)
Relevant, realistic (important, valuable, and the resources exist to get it done)
Timely and Time Bound (it’s the right time, and there is enough time, and we have a time in mind or there is a deadline for completing the goal)
For more about SMART Goals, visit the Leadership Briefs area of the web site and click on Goals.
Rule #3: Write Down the Goals
Writing down a goal is a very simple way to make it tangible. It is also a key way to share the goal with others who can support you or your group and help to hold you accountable for it. Once written, you can post them in places so you are often reminded of them: at the top of your calendar or your planner pages, on the refrigerator, as a screen saver on your computer, on the bulletin board in the office.
Be firm when you write goals; use the word “will” instead of “would like to” or “we hope to.” For example, “We will enter the Hallmark Awards competition in 2009,” not “We hope to enter the Hallmark Awards competition in 2009.” Definite language defines the future state and expresses much more confidence.
Be positive when you write goals. For example, “This semester, we will induct 90% of the students earning invitations to become members of Phi Theta Kappa” is more motivating than “This semester, we will reduce the number of students who choose not to accept the invitations to become members,” and besides being framed in a negative way, the second one does not have a concrete measure and ”allows” for success with just one less student who declines to accept membership.
Rule #4: Define Action Items
The right time to think about the first steps, or even all the steps required to reach a goal is when you set the goal. Getting into the frame of mind for action by identifying action items and even making some assignments for each one helps a group get underway right away. Each meeting can check progress on action items and everyone can feel positive about making progress towards your ultimate goal. This is especially important if the goal is big and demanding, or long-term.
Rule #5: Monitor and Assess
Set reminders, check with others, go over the goals and their importance in meetings so that you know the team is working on the action items and to check what additional action items might be necessary to reach the goal because of changed circumstances or increased awareness of the work involved. You also need to assess whether the goals are still relevant, important, and necessary.
[Monika Byrd, September 2008]
Questions or comments about items appearing in the Officers’ Leadership Resource Center may be directed to Monika Byrd, Dean of Leadership Development for Phi Theta Kappa’s Honors Program Department.
