1.9
Collaborative Goal Setting
Submitted by Jack Byrd, Jr.
Organizations, collaborative groups, and individuals have a need for goals. We often fail to meet our goals because our process for creating the goals is flawed. This activity demonstrates how to collaboratively set goals that are realistic and achievable.
Learning Goals
Develop a deeper understanding of common mistakes in goal setting.
Learn an adapted SMART process to collaboratively create achievable goals.
Instructions
Set Up: Prepare for the Activity
Organize participants into small groups (5-6 ppl).
Share the Collaborative Goal Setting Worksheet with participants.
Begin by introducing the learning goals of this activity.
Step One: Introduce the SMART Goal Description (10 min)
As a full group, introduce the worksheet and review the description of SMART Goals:
S = Specific (things that are easy to relate to)
M = Measurable (things that we measure quantitatively or qualitatively)
A = Achievable (things that are realistic, agreed to, and attainable)
R = Relevant (things that make a difference)
T = Time Bound (things that can be achieved within the time available)
Ask participants to review Challenge One of the worksheet and complete this first step silently. After about five minutes, invite a couple of participants to share their revised statements. Review as a full group.
Step Two: Practice Setting SMART Goals (10 min)
In small groups, invite participants to review Challenge Two: Organization Goal Setting in the worksheet. Give them a few moments to read the scenario and then ask them to complete the challenge as a group. You can also read the scenario aloud to the full group.
Organization Goal Setting
You are the leadership team of a volunteer organization. The mission of the organization is to increase food security in your community. Currently, there are 223 members in your organization, but only 127 members (56%) are actively involved. You want to expand your services but need more members and, particularly, active members to do so.
Step Three: Practice Identifying New Challenges (15 min)
Invite groups to move on to Challenge Three in the worksheet. If necessary, review the tasks together as a full group:
Each group must identify another challenge for the leadership team in the scenario.
Each group will create a new goal based on the needs that they identified in the scenario.
After each group has had a chance to create a new goal based on a challenge that they identified, briefly share back with the full group.
Step Four: Debrief as a Full Group (15 min)
Discuss:
How was the experience different when creating a goal by yourself (like in Challenge One) versus crafting goals together (Challenges Two and Three)?
Why might you want to craft goals together as a group or team?
What are the challenges of doing this together? Trade-offs?
TIME
50
min
MODULE
Introduction to Collaborative Discussion
This activity is more involved or complicated than a beginner activity. This activity is for groups that have established trust or experience with discussion.
This activity can be easily modified for asynchronous learning. See Sample Asynchronous Certificate Program Design to illustrate sample sequencing.
This activity is suitable for professional or more formal learning environments.
Tell us what you think. Rate and review this activity:
Have any helpful suggestions or modifications for this activity?
Share them in the comments below!
0 Comments
Ella Glaser
December 8, 2024 at 10:09:36 PM
Ella Glaser
December 8, 2024 at 10:09:14 PM
Ella Glaser
December 8, 2024 at 10:08:52 PM
September 28, 2024 at 1:33:41 AM
Sovi Herring
May 30, 2024 at 6:42:10 PM
This activity is great when a group is comfortable sharing thoughts--but it is modified to be more introspective at first. There are two versions of this, one to recognize "normalized" feelings, the other is labeled "extreme" as the group was practicing navigating high emotion. This first one covers parents, cats, dogs: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1IvLsBe_FtDG6twalxiKxBHEdt99gJR1V/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=113770591818162655510&rtpof=true&sd=true This one is to recognize more difficult to talk about feelings of fear, disgust, etc.: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1NkZoBCJ3iI5VbkqmjqVuW-_I36MBASOW/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=113770591818162655510&rtpof=true&sd=true
Sovi Herring
May 30, 2024 at 6:28:11 PM
This activity was modified for a Business & Professional Communication class. It is best when the groups have gone through the guidelines activity to help facilitate how to communicate and even the 3.4 ambiguity. This is a difficult activity if the class is uncomfortable speaking (and in my case they were very adverse to discussing these in any group). Here is how I set it up (along with a print out of the words). It is modified to fit the business world, but worked well as a concept. https://liveduq-my.sharepoint.com/:p:/g/personal/herrings1_duq_edu/EWr2jxM5HLlNmgWvYA43gwwBmoBYJP9juGJDD4m1M2H0BQ?e=TYnsVb
May 28, 2024 at 1:33:05 AM
May 28, 2024 at 1:31:01 AM
February 14, 2024 at 1:03:34 AM
February 14, 2024 at 1:02:20 AM