GOAL SETTING
by
Pradeep H. Gohil
I. INTRODUCTION
First of all, I would like to congratulate you all on
assuming the responsibility of an Assistant
Governor(AG). You have excelled in leading
your club as a president and hence you are now
going to guide a group of clubs. It is going to be
a great experience by itself which will be
doubled by the fact that you have DGE Deepak
Aggarwal as Incoming Governor and Kalyan
Banerjee as the Incoming RI President in your
year as AG. Exciting days are ahead in Rotary
for all of you.
II. SESSION OBJECTIVES
1. Roles and Responsibilities of an AG.
2. Definitions of Goals.
3. Benefits of Goal Setting.
4. Importance of Goal Setting.
5. When do you work with clubs on Goals?
6. Resources to use for Goal Setting.
7. Five Characteristics of Effective Goals.
8. How to set Goals?
9. Areas in which Goals should be set.
10. Review of the session.
11. Conclusion
III. ROLES &
RESPONSIBILITIES OF AN AG
Let us start this session with the most
important question. What are your
roles and responsibilities as an AG?
Roles & Responsibilities of an
AG(contd)
An AG’s primary responsibility is to assist
the governor with the administration of
designated clubs. AGs work with DG,
DGE, DGN, District Committees, other
AGs, Club Presidents, Club Secretaries,
Club Committee Chairs and Club Trainers
Responsibilities of an AG to the DG
1. Assist in developing district goals.
2. Coordinate DG’s official visit with the clubs.
3. Communicate clubs’ strengths, weaknesses
and progress towards goals
4. Attend district meetings.
5. Participate in Rotary Foundation Programs,
events and fund raising.
6. Help develop future district leaders.
7. Meet with AGs of next batch to provide status
updates on clubs’ strengths and weaknesses.
Responsibilities of AG to his clubs
1. Help presidents-elect set effective goals &
monitor progress during the year.
2. Visit each designated club 4 times a year
3. Monitor progress of each club’s projects.
4. Encourage club leaders to attend district
meetings and motivate clubs to follow
through on DG’s requests.
5. Assist clubs in planning DG’s official visit
and attend all related club assemblies.
6. Coordinate club training with appropriate
district committees.
IV. DEFINITION OF GOALS
A goal is a clear statement of what the job holder
wants to achieve at some specific point in the
future. It is a statement of intent - a firm
commitment that some observable end result will
be accomplished in a fixed period of time. As
such, it goes beyond a routine responsibility; it
represents an especially important target which
will be more difficult to achieve, and will
therefore lead to genuine performance
improvement
Definition of Goals(Contd.)
A successful person should dream, have
vision, perhaps try to do things that have
not been done before and attain goals not
attained previously. To achieve this one
must announce his dreams, his vision,
perhaps try to do things that have not
been done before and attain goals not
attained previously. To achieve this, one
must announce his dreams, his vision –
we identify them as goals.
V. BENIFITS OF GOAL SETTING
1. Goals provide focus, priorities and effective time
utilization.
2. Goals help to clarify what needs to be done to make
things happen.
3. Goals help you to organize yourself and your
resources.
4. Goals help you to communicate to others what you
want to achieve and how they can help.
5. Goals save your time and improve your time
management.
6. Goals compel you to do better planning.
7. Goals improve your personal productivity.
8. Goals teach you to exercise self discipline.
Benefits of Goal Setting(Contd)
9. Goals encourage you to concentrate on high priority
activities.
10. Goals make you more persistent.
11. Goals help you to get started faster.
12. Goals guide you from wish to fulfillment.
13. Goals help measure progress.
14. Goals produce inspiration.
15. Goals reduce conflict.
16. Goals form a basis for action.
17. Goals stimulate visualization, which in turn focuses
your attention on work, increase desire, intensify
beliefs and commitments, sharpens concentration,
relieves stress and fuels further motivation
VI. IMPORTANCE OF GOALS
1. Why is setting goals important?
Importance of Goals(Contd)
Setting goals gives clubs a plan of action.
It gives guidance for the year, creates a
sense of ownership and generates interest
in activities. It also gives focus on the work
to be done.
Goal setting is a very important ingredient
of the Club Leadership Plan(CLP). It is
involved in the following two out of the
nine best practices of CLP.
Importance of Goals(Contd)
CLP develops long range goals that address the
elements of an effective club. A club’s long
range goals cover club membership, service
projects, the Rotary Foundation, leadership
development and include strategies. As the
club’s leadership plan evolves, these goals
should be updated.
CLP sets annual goals that are in harmony with
the club’s long range goals using “ The Planning
Guide for Effective Rotary Clubs”.
Importance of Goals(Contd)
Past R.I. President Luis Giay once said
about the importance of goals:
Action without vision and goals is a waste
like a flash of lightening in the sky. Vision
without action is just a dream. Nothing
gainful happens.
Action with vision and goals bring results
and hope to the world. This is why goal
setting is very important.
VII. WHEN DO YOU WORK WITH
CLUBS ON GOALS?
1. Before the start of the year, AGs work
with clubs in an advisory role to help
them plan.
2. During the year, AGs help clubs by
assessing progress toward goals and
making any needed adjustments.
3. At the end of the year, AGs assist clubs
reflect on what they have achieved and
what they could have done differently
VIII. RESOURCES TO USE FOR
GOAL SETTING
1. The SWOT analysis of the club.
2. The vision & mission statements of club.
3. R.I. President’s goals for the year.
4. District goals set by the DG for the year.
5. The needs of the community.
6. Club Leadership Plan(CLP).
7. Item inventory for the Rotary Club.
8. Planning guide for effective Rotary Clubs.
9. Elements of an effective Rotary Club.
10. Objectives of Rotary.
IX. FIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF
EFFECTIVE GOALS
Effective goals have five characteristics.
1. Shared The president should involve the board members
and committee chairmen in setting the goals and
developing strategies.
2. Measurable A good goal should provide a tangible and specific
point to pursue and be measurable in units.
3. Achievable Rotarians should be able to achieve the goal with
the resources available.
4. Relevant and Goals must be relevant to your community needs, to
R.I. President’s goals, DG’s goals, your club’s long
Challenging
range goals and within club’s budget.
5. Time Specific A goal should have a deadline or timeline. It should
also be trackable so that you know whether you are
on course during the period. If not you have to see
how to make up.
XI. HOW TO SET GOALS
As an AG, you may need to work with the
Governor Elect and the club leadership teams to
establish club goals. Your goal setting
experience as a past club leader will help you
work with clubs to ensure they establish
meaningful goals that challenge them to new
levels of service. Although club and district goals
may differ in some respects, they should
generally coincide to avoid conflicting interests
that might prevent them from being
accomplished.
How to set Goals(Contd)
Use the 5 characteristics of effective goals to
evaluate district and club goals. If one of them is
missing, the goal should be further developed
and more clearly defined.
Once the goals are set, the most important thing
is to have monthly or quarterly reviews. Ask the
question whether the goal will be achieved
within the given time frame and if not, discuss
with all concerned about what additional
resources need to be put to achieve it in time.
XII. AREAS IN WHICH GOALS
SHOULD BE SET
1. Increase in membership goal.
2. Attendance goal.
3. Community service project goals that address the
needs of the communities.
4. Rotary Foundation goals.
a. Annual programs fund contribution goal.
b. Permanent fund contribution goal.
c. Participation in various Rotary Foundation.
5. Conference attendance goal.
6. Leadership development goal.
7. Club administration goal.
8. Public relations goal.
AREAS IN WHICH GOALS
SHOULD BE SET(CONTD)
9. New generation service goal.
10. Participation in international service goal
11. Vocational service project goal.
12. Developing leaders and training plans for all members.
13. Fellowship goal.
14. Goal to implement and sustain CLP.
Our DGE will personally further guide you on the areas to
be selected for goal setting in the Rotary year 2011-’12
XIII. REVIEW OF THE SESSION
1. Roles and responsibilities of an AG related to DG and
Clubs. Who do they work with?
2. What is a Goal?
3. Benefits of a Goal.
4. Why is Goal Setting so important?
5. How can you work with clubs to help them establish
Goal?
6. Resources to use for Goal Setting.
7. Five Characteristics of effective Goals.
8. How to set Goals?
9. Areas in which Goals should be set?
XIV. CONCLUSION
So, in conclusion, remember that before you take
office, your role is to help clubs get ready for the
upcoming year by offering ideas and guidance in
setting goals. During the year, you will serve as an
adviser to clubs to help them attain their goals.
Remember, “Whatever you vividly imagine, ardently
desire, sincerely believe and enthusiastically act
upon, must in inevitably come to pass”.
Dhirubhai Ambani once said, “Our dreams have to be
bigger, our ambitions higher, our commitment deeper
and our efforts greater”. This is my dream for our district
in the Rotary Year 2011-’12 under the leadership of
Deepakbhai. Let relationship and trust be the foundation
of our achievements together.
Finally, with the divine blessings of God Almighty to
strengthen you, with hard work and sincerity to support
you and with a District Governor like Deepak Aggarwal
behind you, all of you will succeed in helping your
president set the right goals. Good luck and happy goal
setting.