Setting SMART Goals for Creatives

What are SMART Goals?

  • Statements of important results you are working to accomplish
  • Designed in a way to foster clear understanding of what constitutes expected levels of performance and successful professional development.

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Where to start?

  1. Start by thinking about your whole job and the broad areas (or “buckets”) of responsibility and results for which you are accountable.
  2. Develop a goal statement for each bucket. To get the scope right, remember to focus on end results not tasks.
  3. Goals should be high level enough to encompass the core outcomes for which you are responsible, but specific and clear enough so you will be able to measure success. 
  4. Goals should be on-going job responsibilities and any new projects, assignments, priorities, or initiatives that are specific to this performance cycle.
  5. having too many goals can be an indicator that your goals are scoped at too low a level and are focused more on tasks than on end results. 
  6. If it seems that your goals are becoming too numerous and task-oriented, it may be helpful to consider combining several goals statements into a broader outcome area.

SPECIFIC

  • What do I/we want to accomplish?
  • What steps do I/we need to take to get there?
  • Who is responsible for completing each step of the goal?

MEASUREABLE

Tying in closely with how specific it is, you need to be able to measure your goals too. Quantify your aims with objective markers – like a number, deadline date, or percentage change. It will be clearer when you’ve completed it – and you can make sure that progress you make along the way isn’t lost in the weeds. Ask yourself:

  • How should you objectively measure what you want to achieve? 
  • How will you track your progress toward completing the goal?
  • Could someone else pick up your goal and understand what they’d need to see to know it was successful?

ACHIEVABLE

If you set a goal that’s too easy, you won’t feel the same satisfaction achiving it. On the flipside, an objective that’s too difficult can feel pointless to you or your team. Ultimately, you’re far more likely to accomplish your goals if you can find the middle ground between challenging and impossible.

See if you can answer these questions about your goal:

  • Can you/your team reasonable complete your objective?
  • Is it a “stretch goal” – one that’s purposefully challenging but still achivable?
  • Is there any reason someone would be demotivated by this goal?

RELEVANT

If you want to focus on this goal above other targets, it should completely align with the wider direction you want to head in. When an objective is relevant, you’re more likely to stay interested and feel inspired to complete it.

Here are some questions to consider:

  • Why are you setting this objective?
  • How does this goal fit in with your wider aspirations?
  • What would it mean to you to meet this goal?

TIME-BOUND

No one likes an objective that drags on, never getting fully finished. Goals that don’t have an end date can be susceptible to scope creep and unclear success metrics too. So, when defining your objective, it’s important to accompany it with a time limit. And if there are sub-tasks within the SMART goal, each one will need its own deadline within a clearly defined timeline. 

When setting your time limit, think:

  • Are there any urgent factors that will determine when this goal needs to be met?
  • Is this a realistic deadline for this goal to be completed?
  • Do I need to factor in any times when I won’t be able to work won the goal?

DOWNLOAD THIS PRINTABLE WORKSHEET – SMART GOALS FOR ARTISTS