We had an issue in that staff had been asked to ‘coach’ using SMART rather than a specific coaching model such as e.g. GROW. In practice they did neither, as they were not familiar with what SMART actually meant (broken down) and then HOW to make SMART work for them.

I wanted to emphasise and familiarise people with what SMART actually is and how to use it appropriately. The module clearly outlines in some detail what the ‘specifics’ of SMART are, more importantly it offers a very clear exercise with numerous examples to reinforce the process. This was actually sufficient but I used the fact that was promoted ‘Specific works better in a financial situation’ to ensure two things happened – firstly that they could ensure that their ‘specific’ objective was in fact a realistic, tangible and measurable outcome. This made a huge difference to their choice of ‘specific’.

The second result from this realisation which you can then reinforce is, that they actually then use SMART in support of a realistic business coaching outcome. Satisfying both the learning outcomes with which I was challenged at the very outset.