Target setting is the process of generating a specific outcome for oneself. It is characterized by a series of elements which make it both specific and trackable, but also emotionally motivating.

Knowledge bank

Traditional target-setting approaches have centred around a process of deciding future grades or other quantitative measures. However, research tells us that the setting of compelling, effective targets is a complex process involving the following factors.

Targets need to be SMART:

• Specific – highly detailed
• Measurable – ways built into it of quantifying the output
• Achievable – the owner of the target has a sense of the end point being manageable
• Relevant – the owner of the target sees that the target is worth striving for, themselves
• Trackable – the target can be monitored at various checking points along the journey to the final output.

Ownership is paramount. Formulation of targets needs to involve the individual, so that they have motivationally ‘bought in’ to the target.

Targets appear more compelling for many people when there is an element of imagining a future, having already achieved the target. Inviting people to imagine a time in the future when they have already achieved the outcome can bring them in touch with the possible process for achieving the goal.

Targets for many people are more compelling if they can include a sensory element in the outcome such as: seeing the finished outcome; hearing sounds linked to it; seeing statements about the completed objectives; and the feeling of emotions having successfully completed it.

Once a goal has been formulated, it is also important to formulate behavioural targets too. In other words identifying the specific behaviours which will support achieving the target set. For example, asking good questions when we don’t understand.

Any more than five targets and it becomes more difficult to remember and articulate what your targets are. Creating themes of targets across a series of areas of the individual’s work is a way of reducing the overall number of targets. This can maximize the chances of success, with fewer targets to focus on overall.

Ask yourself

• To what extent are the targets set with your learners truly SMART?
• How much ownership do your learners/colleagues have of their targets?
• To what extent are targets reviewed and learning drawn from the experience?
• To what extent are target-specific behaviours explored when goal setting with learners/colleagues?

To do list

• Review your existing target-setting processes in the light of your reading.
• Introduce your learners to Olympic goal setting and encourage them to utilize it.
• Have your learners record targets somewhere centrally.
• Teach your learners to use the timeline process and get them to use it for complex or multiple targets.
• Use the processes described here for your own targets.

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