How many times have you had a supervisor come into your office, or these days, ping you on your mobile phone when you are RIGHT in the middle of meeting a deadline, or you’re plowing through a ton of stuff that has to get done, and they announce to you that they need something done right NOW!
They don’t inquire into your situation, or assess the urgency of their request in the context of priorities you are facing, or show consideration for what can feel like a 24-7 work schedule that spills into personal or family time, or take the challenge of you having to pivot and coordinate your team to meet their deadline into account. They just demand!
You may be very familiar with the “SMART” goal model first introduced by George T. Doran in 1981. The original formula for the acronym was: Specific, Measurable, Assignable, Realistic, and Time-related.
I’d like to offer a twist on this model, which I’ve developed to support leaders and managers to be more planful and deliberate when making requests or giving assignments to their staff.
I call it “SMARTT.”
Using this revised acronym as a guide, here are the questions I recommend they reflect on to prepare their request:
S: Is my request/assignment relevant and contributing strategically to the mission/goals/project we need to deliver on?
M: How is my request quantitatively and/or qualitatively measurable in a clear, sensible way?
A: Is my request achievable? It may be a stretch, but is it reasonable and actionable given existing restraints?
R: Can I ensure/provide the resources needed—including know-how, tools, time, and budget—to succeed?
T: By what time do I need it done? You might have to re-negotiate it, but make sure you don’t let a due date go by. Even more important, don’t forget that you made the request in the first place! Follow up!
Now, here is the twist!
T: What is the right timing for making this request?
The message here is: be thoughtful! Especially in these days of virtual/hybrid office setups, crafting requests and checking in first before dropping another assignment, or at least acknowledging the potential disruption of it, can make a big difference in gaining enrollment and getting it done.
Think of a time when a leader you’ve known did not make a SMARTT request.
What was the impact on you? How did that affect the leader’s credibility leader in your mind?
And if you take a moment to put yourself in that leader’s place, how would you change their request for better results?
For readers who lead others, I hope you give the SMARTT approach a try.
I’d love to hear your feedback!