Content area

Abstract

Together with an health care organizations' (HCO) mission, vision, strategies and tactics, goals and objectives serve as the foundation elements for most major programmatic initiatives. In order to reach a single goal, several enabling or supporting objectives usually have to be met. In health care settings, this involves the time and talents of trained professionals who function more on a collegial basis than in the superior-subordinate relationships around which the MBO and SMART goal processes were originally developed. The following SMARTER objectives criteria take this important difference into account along with the substitution of the term objectives, which more accurately reflects the operational level of focus. The SMARTER objectives criteria are: 1. specific, 2. achievable, 3. relevant, 4. time bound, 5. engaging, and 6. rewarding. The presence of conflicting objectives also poses potential problems, as does a failure to provide appropriate feedback. To avoid these issues, physician executives should make sure that sufficient flexibility, intra-organizational alignment, and real-time feedback are built into the design process.

Details

Title
Making SMART Goals Smarter
Author
MacLeod, Les, EdD, MPH, LFACHE
Pages
68-70, 72
Section
Goal-setting
Publication year
2012
Publication date
Mar/Apr 2012
Publisher
American Association for Physician Leadership
ISSN
08982759
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
1284082621
Copyright
Copyright American College of Physician Executives Mar/Apr 2012