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Never: 1 Seldom: 3 Often: 5 Regularly: 10
3. “I encourage employees to contribute new ideas.”
Never: 1 Seldom: 3 Often: 5 Regularly: 10
4. “I take an interest in my employees’ personal lives.”

Never: 1 Seldom: 3 Often: 5 Regularly: 10
5. “I delegate well.”
Never: 1 Seldom: 3 Often: 5 Regularly: 10
6. “I communicate my priorities and directions clearly.”
Never: 1 Seldom: 3 Often: 5 Regularly: 10
7. “I resolve conflicts in a productive way.”
Never: 1 Seldom: 3 Often: 5 Regularly: 10
8. “I behave in a professional way at work.”
Never: 1 Seldom: 3 Often: 5 Regularly: 10
9. “I inspire my employees with a dynamic personality.”
Never: 1 Seldom: 3 Often: 5 Regularly: 10
10. “I am a good listener.”
Never: 1 Seldom: 3 Often: 5 Regularly: 10
Measurable
[5]
When goals are specific, performance tends to be higher. Why? If goals are
not specific and measurable, how would you know whether you have reached the
goal? Any performance level becomes acceptable. For the same reason, telling
someone, “Do your best” is not an effective goal because it is not measurable and
does not give the person a specific target.
Aggressive
This may sound counterintuitive, but effective goals are difficult, not easy.
Aggressive goals are also called stretch goals. Why are effective goals aggressive?
Easy goals do not provide a challenge. When goals are aggressive and when they
require people to work harder or smarter, performance tends to be dramatically
higher.
Realistic
While goals should be difficult, they should also be based in reality. In other
words, if a goal is viewed as impossible to reach, it does not have any motivational
value. Only you can decide which goal is realistic and which is impossible to achieve;
just be sure that the goal you set, while it is aggressive, remains grounded in reality.
Timely
The goal should contain a statement regarding when the proposed performance
level will be reached. This way, it provides the person with a sense of urgency.
Apply and Practice
Your knowledge of the subject, plus your SMART goals, give you an
opportunity to apply and test your knowledge. Going back to our road-trip analogy,
gauging gives you a starting point, learning gives you a road map and compass, and
goals give you a target destination. Practice, in turn, simply means some repetition of
the application process. Your objective here should be to apply and practice a subject
long enough that, when you gauge it again, you are likely to see some change or
progress.

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