Goal Setting

If goals are not aligned with our values, we hear a lot of 'shoulds'.

To help the client with setting a structure to clarify their goals, we could ask them to describe them in a SMART way:

S= Specific. This can be done by letting the client describe the goal into smaller steps, to visualise the endpoint, to 'start close at home', to let them talk about their needs and values. A question to ask is 'what do you want the job / life / desired situation to give you?'

M= Measuable. If you don't make a goals measurable, how will you know you've achieved it? To do this you need to get the 'ingredients' of the goal. For example, if someone wants to 'get more clarity in life' then they need to clarify what would be different when they have achieved this.

A= Achievable. The role of the coach here is to check with the client if the goal is achievable by asking how the are going to achieve it. It is not our role to tell the client that a goal seems unachievable to us - that would be a projection of our judgments. But with the right questions the client can very well find out themselves whether a goal is achievable or not.

R= Realistic. We can let the client explore the spectrum of their goal; for example, we can ask someone who wants to get 12 paying clients in the coming month 'what if you would coach 3 /6 /9/12/15 clients? A visualisation can be made about the realism of this goal.

T= Time. This means we ask our clients 'by when' do you want to achieve this goal?