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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:
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Share them in the comments below!
0 Comments
June 22, 2023 at 3:24:58 AM
June 16, 2023 at 3:56:28 PM
Fun activity!
June 16, 2023 at 5:01:38 AM
Great activity!
June 16, 2023 at 5:00:51 AM
anon
May 25, 2023 at 1:27:08 PM
Great site!
May 22, 2023 at 7:54:26 PM
RT
January 17, 2023 at 12:39:09 AM
This activity could possibly pair with Activity 1.8, which evaluates current discussion style. After completing that evaluation, this activity could be used to help participants envision and set goals or intentions for how they would like to participate in discussions going forward.
RT
January 16, 2023 at 10:26:09 PM
This activity helps develop a skill that is useful in many contexts, including in the classroom, workplace, community and even at home.
RT
January 13, 2023 at 3:17:13 AM
This activitiy can be modified or used as is in helping STEM students and science & technology professionals in identifying the unintended consequences and uses of any new scientific or technological developments or tools, such as AI models, etc.
Shannon Wheatley Hartman
December 7, 2022 at 7:03:49 PM
I am waiting for someone to try this activity out and share it back with us. This is probably one of the most ambitious activities in the toolkit. I really love it but I have not had the opportunity to try it out with a group. Please someone try this and share back!