66 The Coaching Toolkit for Child Welfare Practice
How much? How many?
How will I know when it is accomplished?
Is it a measurement that is reasonable (what sort of time and
resources is it going to take to do the measurement)?
Achievable
Attainable goals are neither out of reach nor below standard
performance, as these may be considered meaningless. When goals
are meaningful, they are significantly easier to accomplish; learners
will find ways to succeed if it matters to them. Attainable goals may
cause goal-setters to identify previously overlooked opportunities to
bring themselves closer to the achievement of their goals.
Unattainable goals are those dependent upon someone else or
can only be measured after many years. For example, the learner
will always use motivational interviewing with clients. This goal is
simply not measurable since there is no end date. In another
example regarding learner's clients, a family is scheduled to reunify
with their child in 6 months, but perhaps the family will not follow
through on their case plan and reunification will not be possible. As
such, this goal is not directly related to the work of the learner, so it
may not be attainable.