Setting Goals and Objectives
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The difference between where we are
(current status) and where we want to be (vision and
goals) is what we do (target objectives and action
plans).
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As this statement shows, setting goals and objectives
builds on the previous steps of visioning and taking stock. Goals
are simply a clearer statement of the visions, specifying the
accomplishments to be achieved if the vision is to become real.
The target objectives are clearer statements of the specific
activities required to achieve the goals, starting from the
current status.
At this point, strategic planning begins to produce lots of
ideas and action steps. A common practice for keeping individual
workloads to a manageable level is to delegate different topics
to different teams. For example, there could be a curriculum
team, a facilities team, a budgeting team, etc. A useful tool for
keeping track of ideas and seeing how they relate to each other
is the affinity diagram.
The Affinity Diagram
The affinity diagram is a general planning tool. It is a
creative process that helps you to identify and gather large
amounts of information, ideas, opinions, or issues and organize
them in a relatively short amount of time.
A finished affinity diagram looks like the picture below:
Theme
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Community
Involvement
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Ongoing
Tech Support
|
Idea
|
Tech Use
Survey
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One
professional/building
|
Idea
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Open House
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Students
as Tech Support
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Idea
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Include
Community Members in Teams
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Regular
Professional Development Using Tech
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The affinity diagram is used when:
- You need to sift through large volumes of information.
- You want new patterns of information to rise to the
surface.
- Issues seem too large or complex to grasp.
To create an affinity diagram:
Assemble a
team who is knowledgeable about the issue to be
considered.Prepare the room and acquire supplies (one
3"x5" post-it notepad per person; butcher paper
or flip chart paper; markers).
Phrase
the issue in the form of a question, get agreement from
the group and write it on the butcher paper.
Individually
answer the question be recording one idea per post-it
note using nouns and verbs.
Randomly
display the completed post-it notes on the butcher paper.
Silently
read all post-it notes and when done, move like ideas
into groupings.
Read all
grouped ideas as a group and identify the major theme.
Draw
lines around each group to connect with header cards.
The finished affinity diagram helps a group identify lots of
ideas and come to agreement on those ideas in a relatively short
amount of time. The header cards form the consensus on the themes
of the ideas generated form the team.
(These materials are excerpted from the Washington State
School Directors' Association's "Passport to
Leadership" program.)
In this
Module:
In the
Toolkit: