Last updated on Jul 26, 2024

How do you measure coaching progress with SMART goals?

Coaching is a powerful way to help your team members grow and achieve their goals. But how do you know if your coaching is effective and impactful? One way to measure coaching progress is to use SMART goals. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. These are the criteria that make a goal clear, realistic, and trackable. In this article, you will learn how to use SMART goals to set expectations, monitor progress, and evaluate outcomes of your coaching sessions.

1 What are SMART goals?

SMART goals are statements that describe what you want your coachee to accomplish and how you will measure their success. They are not vague or general, but rather precise and concrete. For example, instead of saying "I want you to improve your presentation skills", you could say "I want you to deliver a 10-minute presentation to the senior management team by next month, using at least three visual aids and receiving positive feedback from at least 80% of the audience". A SMART goal should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. It should define what needs to be achieved and why it is important, quantify how success will be measured, challenge your coachee to stretch their abilities without causing frustration or failure, align with their values, interests, and career aspirations, as well as set a deadline or timeframe for completing the goal.

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Ecija Blašković Vondraček

Postgraduate University Specialist in European Projects | Head of Office and Administration | SDGs & regeneration enthusiast
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Measuring coaching progress with SMART goals ensures clarity. I’ve found that specifying exactly what needs to be achieved, like delivering a detailed report, makes expectations clear. This approach allows for precise measurement and meaningful feedback. Setting achievable, relevant, and time-bound goals motivates, driving effective progress.

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2 Why use SMART goals for coaching?

Using SMART goals for coaching can provide great benefits for both you and your coachee. It offers clarity and direction for your coaching sessions, so that you and your coachee can agree on what to work on and what success looks like. Additionally, SMART goals will motivate and inspire your coachee to take action and pursue their goal, while also helping them to overcome procrastination and distractions. Furthermore, it provides a way for you to monitor and track your coachee's progress and performance, as well as evaluate and celebrate their achievements. Thus, SMART goals can be an effective tool for helping you and your coachee reach success.

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Ashish Santhalia

Building Convin AI
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Coaching is a high-priority task for call centers. It reduces ramp-up time and improves productivity. But coaching shouldn't be subjective. A completion score, call quality score, and trend must be attributed to coaching dashboards. The goals can be distributed at the team level and individual level. Coaching should necessarily use a Leaderboard to ensure transparency of coaching progress.

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3 How to set SMART goals for coaching?

Setting SMART goals for coaching is a collaborative process that involves you and your coachee. To begin, ask your coachee what they want to achieve in their role, career, or personal development. Help them identify their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges. Then, break down the big picture into smaller, more manageable goals and use the SMART criteria to refine and define each goal. Ensure each goal is relevant and meaningful to your coachee before writing them down and sharing them with your coachee. Ask them to commit to working on the goals and to share any concerns or questions they have. Lastly, review and revise the SMART goals as needed by checking in with your coachee regularly and asking what support they need. Make sure to adjust the goals if the situation or the coachee's needs change.

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4 How to use SMART goals for coaching?

Using SMART goals for coaching is an ongoing cycle of planning, action, feedback, and reflection. To use them effectively, focus on one or two goals at a time and help your coachee develop and implement action plans. Provide constructive and positive feedback based on the SMART criteria and recognize their achievements. Encourage your coachee to reflect on their experiences and outcomes, identify what worked and what didn't, learn from mistakes and successes, and apply their learning to future goals. This will help them reach their goals and improve their performance.

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5 How to avoid common pitfalls of SMART goals for coaching?

SMART goals can be an effective tool for coaching, but there are some pitfalls to avoid. It's important to strive for a balanced and realistic number of goals that challenge and motivate your coachee. Make sure each goal is attainable and meaningful for your coachee, and avoid setting goals that are too easy or too hard. Don't forget to revisit and revise the goals regularly and to communicate and collaborate with your coachee, as this will help ensure that the goals remain relevant and achievable. Neglecting the SMART goals can lead to loss of focus, direction, and engagement, so it's important to stay on top of them.

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6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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How do you measure coaching progress with SMART goals?

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1 What are SMART goals?

2 Why use SMART goals for coaching?

3 How to set SMART goals for coaching?

4 How to use SMART goals for coaching?

5 How to avoid common pitfalls of SMART goals for coaching?

6 Here’s what else to consider

Business Communications

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How do you measure coaching progress with SMART goals?

1

2

3

4

5

6

1 What are SMART goals?

2 Why use SMART goals for coaching?

3 How to set SMART goals for coaching?

4 How to use SMART goals for coaching?

5 How to avoid common pitfalls of SMART goals for coaching?

6 Here’s what else to consider

Business Communications

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