--- title: "Collaborative Goal Setting" description: "Participants practice drafting SMART goals individually on a vague prompt, then collaborate in small teams on a shared scenario to diagnose issues and co-author clear targets." last_updated: "2026-09-07" canonical: "https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/9-collaborative-goal-setting/" --- # Collaborative Goal Setting Participants practice drafting SMART goals individually on a vague prompt, then collaborate in small teams on a shared scenario to diagnose issues and co-author clear targets. **Time:** 50 minutes. Public source allocates 50 minutes (10 + 10 + 15 + 15). The old record time band of 5 to 15 minutes was an inaccurate metadata fragment. **People:** 4 to 24. Solo drill followed by small groups of 3 to 6 participants (for 7 participants, form one group of 4 and one of 3) ## Choose this exercise **Purpose:** Draft and critique shared, measurable goals using a common five-part criteria framework. **Use it when:** Use when a team needs a structured way to turn vague organizational intentions into concrete, time-bound targets. **Skip it when:** Skip when the group has already established clear operating metrics or lacks a common project to apply the framework to. ## Materials and tools - One printed Collaborative Goal Setting Worksheet per participant - One pen or pencil per participant - Timer or digital clock ## Before participants arrive 1. Print copies of the Collaborative Goal Setting Worksheet for all participants. 2. Arrange seating to allow both quiet individual writing and table conversations in groups of 3 to 6. ## Say this to open Goals often fail because they are vague or disconnect action from capacity. Today we will use the SMART framework to turn broad ambitions into actionable commitments. You will start with a short individual drill, then team up on an organizational case study to negotiate shared targets. ## How to run it ### 1. Review SMART criteria and practice solo (10 minutes) Distribute the worksheet. Review the SMART definitions: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Direct everyone to work alone on Challenge One on the sheet for 5 minutes, converting a vague statement into a SMART goal. Call on two volunteers to read their revisions aloud. Neutral example: If the vague line is 'We need to talk more,' an adapted version is 'The team will hold a 15-minute sync every Tuesday at 9:00 AM for the next six weeks.' ### 2. Draft team goal on case scenario (10 minutes) Form groups of 3 to 6 people. If 7 participants are present, create one group of 4 and one group of 3. Ask groups to read Challenge Two: the food security volunteer scenario on the worksheet. Direct each group to debate and write one unified SMART goal that tackles active member participation. Everyone must agree on the numbers and timeframe before writing it down. ### 3. Identify new challenge and goal (15 minutes) Keep participants in their small groups. Direct them to Challenge Three: pick a secondary challenge that the organization in the scenario faces, then draft a second SMART goal to address it. Give groups 10 minutes to write. Use the remaining 5 minutes to invite one spokesperson from each small group to read their new goal in 30 seconds or less. ### 4. Debrief collaborative goal setting (15 minutes) Reconvene the full room. Lead a debrief using the designated questions. Limit full-room spoken contributions to four or five people so the session ends on time. ## Debrief questions - How was the experience different when creating a goal by yourself versus crafting goals together? - What trade-offs or disagreements came up when your group had to agree on specific numbers and deadlines? - Which SMART criterion was hardest for your group to satisfy, and why? **Finished output:** Completed small-group worksheets containing at least two co-authored SMART goal statements for the case scenario. ## Remote Distribute the worksheet text via a shared online document or slide deck. In step 1, conduct the briefing in the main room and give 5 minutes of quiet time. In steps 2 and 3, send participants into breakout rooms of 3 to 6 with one shared document per room. Return to the main room for the timed spokesperson share-outs and full-group debrief. ## Hybrid Keep remote attendees in their own breakout rooms or designate a fully hybrid table equipped with a shared microphone. Have all groups record their statements in a single shared online document so in-person and remote participants can review each other's outputs during the share-out. ## Access and participation choices - Provide large-print worksheets or digital text accessible to screen readers. - Volunteers share aloud during step 1 and step 3; participants may choose to contribute solely in their small group or via written text without speaking to the whole room. ## If the session gets stuck **Groups get bogged down debating fictional details of the scenario instead of setting goals.** Remind them that reasonable assumptions are fine. Tell them to pick a plausible assumption, write it down, and proceed to the SMART criteria. **A group writes an overly complex list of actions rather than a single measurable goal.** Ask the group: 'What is the single observable outcome you want to see by what date?' Guide them to strip away operational tasks from the primary metric. ## Terms used here - SMART: A goal-setting acronym standing for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. ## Participant material: Collaborative Goal Setting Worksheet SMART Criteria Reference: - Specific: Clear, focused, and concrete. - Measurable: Quantifiable or observable indicators of success. - Achievable: Realistic given available resources and constraints. - Relevant: Meaningful to the group's purpose and priorities. - Time-bound: Assigned a clear, agreed-upon deadline. Challenge One: Individual Practice Review the following vague statement: 'Our group needs to do better at communicating and getting things done.' Rewrite this into a single SMART goal statement (5 minutes solo): [ ] Challenge Two: Organization Goal Setting (Small Group) Scenario: You are the leadership team of a volunteer organization. The mission of the organization is to increase food security in your community. Currently, there are 223 members in your organization, but only 127 members (56%) are actively involved. You want to expand your services but need more members and, particularly, active members to do so. Task: Work together to write one SMART goal that addresses this active membership challenge. Group Goal 1: [ ] Challenge Three: Identifying New Challenges (Small Group) Task 1: Identify one additional challenge this organization faces based on the scenario above. Identified Challenge: [ ] Task 2: Write one new SMART goal that directly addresses this challenge. Group Goal 2: [ ] ## Sources and adaptation Observed in materials published by the Collaborative Discussion Project under the title 'Collaborative Goal Setting' (item 1.9). Retained the exact four-step flow, timing (50 minutes total), scenario details, SMART definitions, and debrief prompts from the Collaborative Discussion Project source page. Adjusted subgroup sizing to 3 to 6 to handle small group counts (including 7 participants divided into 4 and 3) cleanly. Created self-contained participant worksheet text based on the described challenges, and added neutral facilitator scripts, hybrid options, and troubleshooting steps. [Collaborative Discussion Project](https://www.collaborativediscussionproject.com/items-1/19collaborativegoalsetting) Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/9-collaborative-goal-setting/