Goal Setting A leadership training lesson from The Pennsylvania State University.

Goal SettingA leadership training lesson from The Pennsylvania State University. *This powerpoint should be used in conjunction with the Goal Setting lesson plan found at http://leadership.cas.psu.edu/Training.html

Goal Setting: Overview“A leader looks upon his organization and sees it not as it is…but as it can be” • Introduction • Lesson Objectives • Lesson Content • Reflection Questions • References

Introduction • Important to organizations and individuals • Making a plan for the future • Keeping an “eye on the prize” • Leaders need to be visionary • What is a vision? • A strong, clear vision is like a good road map

Introduction • Now it’s time to get your team to adopt the vision • Have a clear vision • Talk about it plainly • Always attempt to be honest and fair • Gaining your team’s trust is important • Effort is not for nothing • Contributions are for a larger cause or goal

Introduction • The keys to a successful plan • A good plan • Enthusiasm & positive energy • Don’t be Ms. or Mr. Negativity • Having a good team on board with you

Lesson Objectives • At the end of the lesson, you should be able to: • Discuss characteristics of goals • Talk about how to approach writing goals for individuals or teams • Know the difference between goals and visions

Setting Your Goals • Things to Remember* • Goals should be REALISTIC and REACHABLE • Consider time, resources, and other people involved • Goals should improve you or your organization • If these are team goals, the team should be involved in setting the goals • A plan should be developed to achieve each goal • A plan is a step towards reaching a goal *Don Clark, Big Dog Leadership

Creating a Vision • The difference between goals and visions • Goals are more often discussed for personal situations, such as 4-H projects, school, or your job • Visions are more often talked about in terms of clubs, groups, or whole organizations • When creating a vision, think about the future • 10 years? 15 years? 20? Even 50? • Describe a future with unlimited money or time. • Describe a future with very limited money or time.

Step One: The Vision • There should be a clear connection between your vision and the organization's goals • Identify your thoughts and plans for the future • Understand the larger goals of the organization • Know the organization’s mission statement • Talk with your team about your vision in very general, easily understandable terms

Step Two: Goals • Your team will turn the larger vision into goals • This transforms your vision into a reality • Goals should be easily understandable • Example: A goal for your local 4-H county council might be to “increase club participation in county council.”

Step Three: Objectives • Objectives measure progress towards making vision a reality • Objectives should be measurable • Use specific terms that you can evaluate and that the team agrees on • Example: “By midway through the coming program year, we will increase club participation in the county council to 75% of all clubs sending at least one representative to meetings.”

Step Four: Tasks • A list of tasks will help you accomplish objectives • Tasks are specific, measurable, and concrete statements of action • Example: “A committee will be formed to develop a promotional flyer to go into the next 4-H newsletter to promote our monthly meetings.”

Step Five: Time Lines • A time line will help put your tasks in order • Prioritizing tasks will help your team use its time in the best way possible • Example: “The flyer will be done 2 weeks prior to the newsletter being published. It will be due to our county extension office by September 15.”

Step Six: Follow Up • Follow-up shows that you: • Support the tasks • Believe the effort is important • Ask: “Is your team working towards their vision?”

Reflection Questions • Think of times when developing a list of goals would be important. • List different places you might set goals for yourself. • Why would goal setting be important in these circumstances? • Select one of those times where setting goals might be important and begin to think about the goals you would set for yourself. • Write three goals following the formula listed before.

Reflection Questions • Think of the ways that you are a leader. As a leader, having a vision is important. • Where can you begin to formulate a vision? • Is it in your club, within your county, or your region? • Maybe you are part of a state-level group and you can begin to formulate a vision there. • Make a list of the places where a vision could be very valuable. Select one of those places and start to brainstorm about what your vision would look like. • Write down some of the ideas that you come up with.

Reflection Questions • Take the vision you formulated above and turn it over to your team or group. • Ask them to start thinking about how to get to the place you want to go. • Work together with your team members to put this plan together using the steps that are listed above.

Reflection Questions • Did having a vision and following the steps above to develop a plan help your team think about the future? Did you find it helpful in planning for different things? • Did you follow the steps as they were listed above? How easy was it to go through the steps?

Reflection Questions • Was one step more challenging than another? If so, which steps were more challenging for your group? How can you ensure that as you revisit your progress you can make the challenging steps, less so. • Have you posted your vision and the steps to achieve it in a place where your team can see it and be reminded of it? Does each team member have a copy of your plan?

Reference • Clark, D. (1997). Big dog leadership. Retrieved on October 5, 2003, from www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/leader.html

Goal Setting A leadership training lesson from The Pennsylvania State University.