Lou,
this is a good point & one reason I encourage the more personal goals to be developed through a process of shared goal setting. You are exactly right, that members must feel connected to the goal & outcome if it is to be motivating to them.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
This is very true and I am always seeking way to ensure all my goals are not only reachable but met and not placed on the way side.
I think once you have identified a reasonable goal and the team you assembled to accomplish this goal is all on the same page, it is very important to maintain the path agreed upon to accomplish it. If others in your team think of a quicker, easier way and decide to change the steps to the goal with out informing others, the goal at hand could go from reasonable to unreasonable easily.
One aspect of a reasonable goal that I consider to be overlooked is the motivation aspect. What is the incentive for organization members or individuals to work toward accomplishment? Is the goal important or relevant to them? How? Why?
Reasonability is somewhat defined by the leader. In some cases, for example, leaders will expend significant extra resources to achieve a goal because the value of the outcome is high (similar to "crashing" in a PERT/CPM environment). It's a "reasonable" bet. I prefer the "SMART" model that has Specific, Measureable, Achievable, RELEVANT, and Time-specific because there really isn't much difference between "achievable" and "realistic". "Relevance" is better because it demonstrates importance to the organization.
Malerie,
and at that point I would definitely argue if it should even be a goal, if I'm not allowed or encouraged to work on it.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Malerie,
this is a danger & a problem in many organizations. What we want to try to do is keep the goals in such a way that we can change tasks & still meet our goals.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I too see co-workers do this. It seems waste of time and effort to even try to set a goal without having ways to measure your accomplishments.
My perception of a resonable goal would be one that can be accomplished with-in a resonable time and that your allow to "focus" on.
Unresonable goals are those set when you are required to prioratise and that goal is on the bottom the the "Get it Accomplished Now List".
I find it nice to have goals in place but sometimes it seems as if getting the tasks assigned seem to over ride the goals more often than not where I work. We are required to write out our "Goals" for the year. Do I strive to meet them? Of Course! Do I always meet my goal or the goal set forth by my supervisor. Unfortunately not. I think sometimes due to "Changes" that the company makes along the way sometimes creates curves and goal do not get met.
Andrew,
yes, it really is up to the manager/leader of a team to ensure that realistic goals are set & that they are met.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Part of being a manager or supervisor is not setting unreachable goals for his team members
Enid,
yes & a key to a reasonable goal are the resources to make it happen.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
A reasonable goal addresses a specific task, has measurable results and you have the resources to accomplish this goal. An unreasonable on one may be too ambitious or difficult to measure.
jason,
great point here. We have to make sure goals are time bound & that we can reach them.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Reasonable goal is reachable and measurable. Expectations are defined. Assessments can be done through its progression with a final evaluation at term. Its achievement will benefit to all parties involved.
Jeremy,
this is a great description of both reasonable & unreasonable goals; additionally unreasonable goals are often vague.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
reasonable goals should have definitive time frames aand be attainable. unreasonable goals are open ended and ambiguous
I think resonable goals are one that can be obtained within a specific time frame and with available resources. Unreasonable goals are often lofty, without proper resources. The unreasonable goals would typically burn out or turn off an employee. The chances of reaching an unreasonable goal would be very difficult and taxing.
A reasonable goal is one that you can achieve using the SMART method. Making sure that each component is clear and concise. For example, this report needs to be done every Tuesday before 9am. Un unreasonable goals is one that you know cannot be reached. For example, we need to double our sales.
