Goal-setting positively impacts an individual's engagement in his work. The employee who has the opportunity to set goals for herself and is held accountable for goal attainment more readily involves and commits herself to that work.

It's worth remembering that goal-setting is more than saying, "My goal is to do a good job." The S.M.A.R.T. acronym has seen lots of mileage because it covers lots of solid ground when it comes to setting goals.

Successful goal-setting means setting goals that are:

Specific goals are clearly stated, well-defined, and easily understood by anyone with fundamental knowledge of the work situation.

Measurable goals quantify the meaning and completion of the goal, how much is to be done for the goal to be fulfilled.

Attainable goals can be achieved with resources available and acceptable amount of effort (perhaps strenuous) by the individual.

Relevant goals have meaning to the overall direction, strategy, and objectives of the organization; they contribute to team/department goals.

Time-fixed goals can be achieved in a reasonable amount of time and do have a specified completion date.

Each initial (S.M.A.R.T.) does not refer to a separate goal. Every goal should be totally S.M.A.R.T.

Tomorrow (3/31/10) and Thursday (4/1/10) will include additional information about goal-setting and engagement. First about engaging employees in setting their own goals, rather than having goals handed to them. Second, how to make sure goal engagement extends to company goals as well as individual and team goals. Hope to see you then!