Coaching Goal: Setting and Achieving SMART Goals
Everyone can benefit from working with a coach, but not everyone knows how to make the most of one. Knowing your strengths is interesting, but it’s not helpful unless you apply them intentionally. Without action, discussions about strengths can remain abstract and lead to coaching sessions that lack impact.
Have you identified your strengths but find it difficult to use them effectively? You're not alone. Many of the people I work with—including leaders, coaches, managers, and team members—struggle too. That’s why they seek out coaching.
In this post, I’ll show you how setting SMART goals can be a tangible coaching objective using a strengths-based approach. If you struggle to say “yes” to what matters and “no” to what doesn’t, or if you don’t even know the difference right now, then this goal might resonate with you.
Why Goals Matter & How Strengths Contribute to Success
For a long time, I didn’t see the point in goal setting. Sitting down to figure out what I was working towards felt meaningless when I had a leader or parent telling me what to do. It wasn’t until I became a leader myself that I realized the importance of having clear targets.
Everyone, whether a leader or not, can benefit from having a clear direction. Defining what you want clarifies what matters to you and what doesn’t. For instance, if you aim to run a marathon in three months, you know you need to prioritize your daily runs. If you want to connect better with your partner, the weekly date night will get top billing. Establishing a target clarifies your priorities and helps you discern where to allocate your time.
There are many ways to structure your aspirations, and SMART is a common and effective method. Any meaningful endeavor requires focus and effort, so you want to ensure that effort isn’t wasted. Making sure your objectives are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timely ensures that you are clear on where the finish line is, how long you have to get there, and whether it’s even possible or necessary before you start.
Finally, while your SMART objective outlines what you want to do and by when, your strengths suggest the best method for success. Using your strengths increases quality, speed, and perceived ease. When you leverage your strengths while setting SMART goals, you increase your chances of reaching the finish line on time, feeling good about your progress, and performing at your best.
Coaching Strategy & Tools
Working with a Gallup Certified Strengths Coach to understand and use your strengths can help you craft meaningful SMART goals that matter and align your strengths with them. Here's what it might look like if we were to tackle that goal together:
Take the CliftonStrengths Assessment: We would start by identifying your dominant and lesser strengths with the CliftonStrengths assessment. This step is essential as it sets the foundation for our work together, helping to engage your strengths effectively for goal-setting.
Assess Well-being for Targeted Goal-Setting: Gallup's research on the elements that contribute to a great life identified five key areas: Career, Physical, Social, Community, and Financial. We would assess which elements are thriving and which are struggling, focusing on goals that will contribute to a thriving life. Most people tend to fixate on a few elements and overlook others to their detriment. This step helps concentrate goal-setting efforts on the areas that need it most.
Create SMART Goals and Leverage Strengths: As you create your SMART goals, a Gallup Certified Strengths Coach can help you understand which talents might increase your chances of ease, joy, and success. For example, if “Achiever” is high and your goal is to run a marathon, a good strategy might include breaking down your training into milestones to track progress. If “Relator” is high, your strategy might involve connecting with a friend, family member, or running group to train with.
By engaging in this coaching process, you'll gain the tools to effectively use your strengths to set and achieve your most meaningful SMART goals. This ensures that you not only focus on things that promote thriving but also use methods that leverage what you do best for the highest chance of success.
Wrap Up
Are you ready to harness your strengths to set SMART goals for yourself or your team? Sign up for a free 30-minute discovery call with me to explore how strengths coaching can make a big difference.
