After looking at the differences between SMART and HARD goals, it’s clear that HARD goals offer a whole new way of approaching goal setting that focuses more on the way that we emotionally deal with our goals. Of course, it can be easy to dismiss HARD goals for this reason – emotions can seem a bit wishy-washy and unreliable, why should we be using the HARD method and why should we be making sure that our goals are heartfelt?

What are heartfelt goals?

There are times when inspiration strikes and we become suddenly motivated towards a specific goal. The goal sits in our head for days and we can’t shake it, knowing that we will have to do something about it so that it doesn’t weigh on us. These are heartfelt goals – the goals that you can’t ignore, the ones that weasel their way into our hearts and really inspire us to make a change.

Why does your team need a heartfelt goal?

By very nature, heartfelt goals are important to us. Unfortunately, there are very few goals that we can achieve on our own. At the very least, we need moral support. At the most, we need a team to pull together and make change happen.

As humans, we are emotional beings and we respond to things emotionally (even when we try not to). If our team is looking to achieve a goal, the emotion and inspiration behind it are extremely important – it’s the very thing that will drive your team towards success.

More than that, your team needs a leader who wholeheartedly believes in the goal that you are collectively trying to achieve. After all, if you aren’t committed to the goal or you don’t care about what you’re trying to achieve – why should your team spend their time trying to reach it? If you don’t care, why should anyone else?

For example, the goal “I want our organisation to sign up 10 new subscribers to our programs within the next month” is more of a SMART goal and leaves a lot to be desired. It’s hard to care personally about the goal even though it’s not an intrinsically bad goal.

Instead, flipping this into a HARD goal for an individual will see more results: “I want to learn a new skill in marketing this month, in order to help our organisation spread their message further.” This goal invests in the individual’s development, the organisation’s growth and ultimately, the original goal of 10 new subscribers will be in sight.

Goal setting is always fraught with the danger of failure and, unfortunately, there is nothing you can do to eradicate that danger. Having heartfelt goals, however, can soften the blow of failure. Failing at a heartfelt goal doesn’t have to mean defeat – if you and your team really care about the change the goal will bring, any step towards it will be a plus, no matter how small.

If you’re ready to start motivating your team by leveraging heartfelt goals, contact People Make The Difference. We can help you with our training workshops, one-on-one coaching and Coach On Call services. To find out more, call us on 0412 333 415 or visit peoplemakethedifference.com.au