“All our knowledge is, ourselves to know.”
Alexander Pope, poet and essayist
At the heart of all good coaching and personal branding is an emphasis on knowing yourself. Honest self-appraisal and knowledge of your individual strengths are essential if you are to achieve personally fulfilling outcomes or goals. If you are involved with staff appraisals or performance management programmes, you will doubtless be familiar with SMART goals. It makes sense to have goals and objectives that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-framed. It makes even more sense if your goals are SMART and SAVVY.
Stretching – Giving you a self-generated, personal challenge
Aligned - Going in the same direction and fitting coherently with other goals
Value-Driven - Gaining velocity by being based on something important to you
Verifiable - Providing a way of knowing for yourself when you’ve achieved your goal
You - Relating directly to your personal strengths and working with the grain. You and others will know the goal is a natural fit for you
If your goal is SAVVY, you are far more likely to achieve it and enjoy the process of doing so. Often in a work context, we are given goals or feel we “ought” to achieve certain objectives. Accepting a few goals like this may be inevitable, it seems worthwhile to discover if you can frame them so they are SAVVY. You will be creating value for the organisation in a way that will make you feel most energised. And maximise your personal development and satisfaction.
Interestingly the UK Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development published a major study in 2004 on performance management. It confirms that performance management is no longer an add-on for companies and firms - it is seen as the key to harmonising individuals’ objectives with those of the organisation.
