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Strengths Activity- Goal Setting and Resolutions

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It's the new year, which for many, means resolutions and goals to improve your life. Setting goals for personal improvement is a good idea, but in reality, many people fall short of achieving them. A frequently-cited Harvard Business School study found that of their students, only 16% had set goals for their time in graduate school. Of that 16%, only 3% of those goal-setters actually wrote down their goals and had concrete plans. When the study followed up with these students 10 years later, they found that the 3% of the class with written goals with a plan were much more successful, making 10 times as much as the other 97% of the class.

We know from Gallup's research that people who have a focus on strengths are 6x more likely to be engaged (in their work, school, life, etc) and report a quality of life that is 3x higher than those who are not focused on strengths. A focus on strengths also leads to greater measurements success as well as a higher sense of hope.

So, let's make a resolution to focus on strengths in the new year! To do so, use the SMART goal framework.

S-Specific

  • What exactly do I want to achieve?
  • Where?
  • How? 
  • With whom? 

M-Measurable

  • How will I be able to tell I have accomplished this goal? 
  • What is a number I can put on this goal? 

A-Achievable

  • Are there any conditions or limitations that would prevent me from accomplishing this goal?
  • How can I work around these limitations?

R-Relevant

  • Why do I want to reach this goal? 
  • What is the objective behind this goal? 

T-Time-Bound

  • When will I have this goal completed? 


To get some ideas on strengths-based goals, log back into your StrengthsQuest account. Then, go to the action items section of dashboard. This section lists specific actions you can take in order to grow and honor each of your top 5 strengths. There is a similar section of action items in the downloadable report on the Strengths Explorer website for those with mentees in 3rd-8th grade.

As a mentoring match, create 3 goals for your strengths development. Make them specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound using the framework and questions above. Write them down together and plan regular check ins in order to keep each other accountable to these development goals. When you have achieved them, do not forget to celebrate!
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  1. Porter MaloufJune 12, 2019 at 11:23 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. Sophia MorellJune 12, 2019 at 11:30 PM

    As Mentoring plays a key role in the growth of a company, Practitioners also know about the benefits of setting and pursuing goals, and making progress toward goals.

    Tess your blog made my day, I will keep visiting this blog very often.

    Thanks and Keep up the good work!

    ReplyDelete

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