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Corporate
Coach Group

Stop Reacting. Start Leading With Purpose.

Setting and Achieving Goals: Follow On Training 4 hours

A four-hour follow-on training course for delegates who have completed the two-day Leadership and Management programme. Apply the eight-part SMART formula, connect goals to detailed written plans, and build the motivation to achieve results.

Available as live online training via Microsoft Teams, or as bespoke in-house training tailored to your organisation.

Quality Training
Established 1997
4 CPD Hours
Delivery Options Upcoming Dates

Course Overview

Setting and achieving goals

Many people do not set specific goals. Instead, they tend to react to whatever happens, feeling controlled by circumstances rather than shaping them. This four-hour follow-on course directly addresses that tendency. It is the first of six specialist programmes designed for delegates who have already completed the Leadership and Management Training two-day course and want to develop a deeper, more applied capability in each of the six essential leadership skill areas.

The course begins with the Corporate Coach Group success formula: clear purpose, rational plan, positive motivation. Clear purpose means knowing exactly what you want, and what others want. Rational means having a logical plan capable of achieving that purpose. Positive means having the motivation, persistence, and confidence to carry the plan through to completion. All three elements are interdependent: a goal without a plan is merely a wish, and a plan without motivation rarely survives contact with the first serious obstacle.

Delegates learn how to turn these principles into practical action using the eight-part SMART goal-setting formula. This extends the familiar five-element version to include specificity of language, numerical measurability, clarity of key terms, identification of required abilities and resources, and a firm deadline committed to in writing. Alongside goal-setting, delegates learn how to connect each goal to a detailed written plan, so that the goal becomes a concrete programme of work rather than an aspiration sitting in someone's head.

The session concludes by showing delegates how to sell their goals to others using the motivating power of benefits and the avoidance of painful consequences, and how small shifts in everyday language have an outsized effect on team confidence and focus. By the end of the course, delegates leave with a fully defined goal, a written plan, and the motivation to pursue it.

The eight-part SMART goal diagram: 1 — 8 Part SMART Goal, branching into Specific (2 Numbers, 3 Define key terms), Measure (4 Feedback), Achievable (5 Ability), Realistic (6 Resources), Time (7 Deadline, 8 Optimistic)

Core Skills

The Key Skills Covered

This course focuses on the first of the six essential leadership skills: clear purpose and goal focus. Each section provides a practical method that delegates can apply immediately on returning to work.

  1. 1

    Defining Success Clearly

    Success is defined as the achievement of a long-range, worthwhile, and valuable goal. We explore what that definition means in practice and how to distinguish genuine goal focus from vague aspiration or reactive drift. A clear and shared definition of success is the foundation of everything that follows.

  2. 2

    The Eight-Part SMART Formula

    The eight SMART questions extend the familiar framework to cover specificity of language, numerical measurability, clarity of key terms, identification of required abilities, resource planning, deadline-setting, written commitment, and personal ownership. Each question sharpens the goal and makes it more achievable in practice.

  3. 3

    Connecting Goals to Written Plans

    Goals without plans are meaningless. Clear goals and detailed written plans are the twin engines of progress. Delegates learn how to connect each goal to a practical, written plan that specifies what needs to be done, by whom, and by when, turning a vague aspiration into structured, trackable action.

  4. 4

    Communicating and Selling Goals

    A goal that the team does not understand or believe in will not be achieved. Delegates learn how to communicate goals clearly and persuasively by explaining the pleasurable benefits of achieving them and the painful consequences of failing to do so. This two-sided motivational approach is one of the most effective ways to secure genuine team commitment.

  5. 5

    Motivational Language

    The language we use shapes the way we think. Replacing weak, self-doubting phrases with stronger, action-oriented alternatives moves the mind away from hesitation and towards problem-solving. A question such as "How can we do it?" is far more productive than "Can we do it?" and produces measurably better results.

  6. 6

    Positive Motivation and Confidence

    Alongside clear purpose and rational planning, positive motivation is the third element of the success formula. Delegates learn how to build and sustain the confidence needed to pursue goals through difficulty, and how to use the same motivational principles to inspire their teams to commit and persist.

Who Is This Course For?

Who Should Attend This Follow On: Setting and Achieving Goals Course?

Designed for delegates who have completed the two-day Leadership and Management Training course and want to develop a deeper, more applied capability in goal-setting and clear purpose.

Leadership and Management Graduates

Deepen your goal-setting capability after completing the two-day programme.

Team Leaders and Managers

Gain a structured, practical method for setting and communicating goals.

Aspiring Leaders

Build the clarity and direction that effective leadership depends on.

Individuals Seeking Greater Focus

Replace reactive drift with a confident, goal-focused way of working.

Also valuable for team leaders and managers who want a focused, practical introduction to goal-setting without first attending the two-day course, and for HR and L&D professionals building a blended leadership development programme.

Course Agenda

Follow On: Setting and Achieving Goals Course Details

1

Part One • Defining and Setting Goals • Goal focus, the success formula, and the SMART framework

Establish a precise definition of success, understand the Corporate Coach Group success formula, learn how to avoid the most common goal-setting mistakes, and apply the eight-part SMART formula to a real goal from your own work.

We begin with the Corporate Coach Group definition: success is the achievement of a long-range, worthwhile, and valuable goal. We explore each element of that definition in turn, examining what makes a goal genuinely worthwhile and why long-range thinking produces better results than short-term reaction. Delegates leave this section with a clear and personal understanding of what success means in the context of their own role.
The success formula has three interdependent elements: clear purpose, rational plan, and positive motivation. Clear purpose means knowing exactly what you want and what others want. Rational means having a logical plan capable of achieving that purpose. Positive means having the motivation, persistence, and confidence to carry the plan through to completion. We work through each element in turn and show how they reinforce one another.
People who do not set specific goals tend to react to whatever happens rather than shaping events. Over time, this reactive habit creates a sense of being controlled by circumstances and out of control of one's own direction. We examine how goal drift develops, why it feels comfortable in the short term, and how to interrupt the pattern and replace it with intentional goal focus.
A vague goal is worse than no goal at all, because it creates the illusion of direction without providing the clarity needed to act decisively. We examine the most common forms of goal vagueness, including imprecise language, unmeasurable targets, and undefined key terms, and show how each one can be corrected using the SMART formula.
When effort is spread across too many conflicting objectives, each one competes with the others for time, attention, and resources. The result is that none are achieved well. We cover the principle of goal prioritisation and show how to identify the small number of goals that will generate the greatest results, and how to subordinate other activities to serve those priorities.
The eight-part SMART formula extends the familiar acronym to cover: specific language, measurable outcomes, achievability, relevance, time-bound deadlines, written commitment, positive framing, and personal ownership. For each question, delegates receive a practical technique and apply it to a real goal from their own work, leaving this section with a fully formed, SMART-defined objective.
One of the most common causes of goal failure is undefined language. When a goal uses words such as "better", "improve", or "more effective", there is no shared understanding of what success actually looks like. We show how to replace vague descriptors with specific, measurable definitions, and how to identify the precise indicators that will confirm the goal has been achieved.
2

Part Two • Planning, Communication and Motivation • Written plans, selling goals, and building team motivation

Learn how to connect goals to detailed written plans, identify the abilities and resources required, communicate goals compellingly to your team, and use language and motivation to sustain commitment through to completion.

A goal that is not matched to an honest assessment of the capabilities and resources needed to achieve it will fail at the planning stage. We cover how to map the gap between current capabilities and those required, how to identify the tangible resources the goal demands, and how to build these requirements into the written plan so that nothing critical is overlooked.
Deadlines create urgency and commitment. A goal without a deadline is permanently postponable. We cover how to set deadlines that are both ambitious and achievable, how to break longer timelines into interim milestones, and how to use deadlines as a planning tool rather than simply as a pressure mechanism.
Goals without plans are meaningless. Clear goals and detailed written plans are the twin engines of progress. We show how to translate a fully defined goal into a written plan that specifies every significant action, assigns responsibility for each action, and sets a completion date. The written plan transforms the goal from aspiration into a concrete programme of work.
A goal that the team does not understand, or does not believe in, will not be achieved. We cover how to communicate a goal with clarity and how to make it genuinely compelling by explaining the benefits that follow from achieving it and the consequences that result from not doing so. This two-sided motivational approach, using both the pull of positive outcomes and the push of avoiding negative ones, is one of the most effective ways to secure genuine team commitment.
Human motivation responds strongly to two forces: the desire to gain something pleasurable and the desire to avoid something painful. We examine both forces and show how to articulate them clearly when presenting a goal. Delegates practise framing a real goal in terms of its benefits and consequences, producing a motivational case that is specific, honest, and persuasive.
The questions and phrases we use in everyday conversation have a direct effect on the way our minds respond. Replacing "Can we do it?" with "How can we do it?" shifts the focus from self-doubt to problem-solving and action. We examine a range of common weak language patterns and practise replacing each with a stronger, more action-oriented alternative that builds confidence rather than doubt.
The session closes with a structured review of all the techniques covered and an individual action planning exercise. Each delegate identifies the goal they will pursue on returning to work, applies the eight-part SMART formula to it, connects it to a written plan, and commits to a specific next action. The result is a clear, practical plan ready to implement immediately.

Availability and Pricing

Course Formats and Delivery Options

Choose from scheduled open follow on: setting and achieving goals courses, live online training or bespoke in-house follow on: setting and achieving goals training for your organisation. Each format covers the same practical methods and learning outcomes.

Online Live Training

£200 +VAT

per delegate

Interactive live sessions delivered via Teams using our superior green-screen technology.

  • Same content as face-to-face
  • Learn from home or office
  • Delivered via MS Teams
  • Laptop or tablet with webcam
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Bespoke In-House

Enquire

per training day

We come to you. Training delivered at your premises, tailored to your team's specific needs.

  • Your premises or online
  • Tailored to your organisation
  • Dates to suit your schedule
  • We can train in your timezone
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All Our Training Includes

Full 4 hours of expert training delivered by an experienced trainer
CPD-endorsed course: 4 CPD training hours (plus 2-3 additional hours via post-course online learning)
Full digital interactive course notes
Official training certificate
Access to free additional training material via our post-course portal
3 months of free telephone coaching while you implement your learning

Questions? Call 020 3856 3037 or 01452 856091

Upcoming Dates

Next Available Course Dates

No upcoming dates are currently listed.
Please get in touch to enquire about availability.

Contact Us

Frequently Asked Questions

Course FAQs

You can book directly online via our course dates page, call us on 020 3856 3037, or make an enquiry and we will call you back. We accept payment by BACS, cheque or credit card. Once booked, you will receive a confirmation email with full joining instructions.
Yes. We can deliver this course exclusively for your team at your premises or online, on dates to suit you. Bespoke in-house training is priced per day rather than per delegate, making it cost-effective for groups of four or more. We can also tailor the content to address your organisation's specific challenges.
This course is designed as a follow-on to the two-day Leadership and Management Training programme and assumes familiarity with the six-skill framework introduced there. However, the goal-setting content is fully self-contained and is also suitable for delegates who have not attended the two-day course but want a focused, practical introduction to goal-setting using the eight-part SMART formula.
The eight-part SMART formula extends the familiar five-element framework. The eight questions cover: specific language (precise rather than vague), measurable outcomes (quantified numerically where possible), achievability (realistic given available resources), relevance (aligned to wider priorities), time-bound deadlines (a firm completion date), written commitment (the goal is recorded formally), positive framing (stated as what you will achieve rather than what you hope to avoid), and personal ownership (the goal-setter accepts responsibility for the outcome).
A goal defines what you want to achieve; a plan defines how you will achieve it and by when. The two are interdependent. A goal without a plan is a wish; a plan without a clear goal is activity without direction. This course covers both, and specifically shows how to connect a well-defined goal to a detailed written plan that everyone can understand and act on.
Motivation is addressed at two levels. First, delegates learn how to sustain their own confidence and drive when pursuing a demanding goal. Second, they learn how to communicate goals in a way that generates genuine team commitment, by clearly explaining the benefits of achieving the goal and the consequences of not. The course also covers specific language patterns that build confidence and focus rather than inadvertently creating self-doubt.
Yes, the training is highly interactive. Sessions include group discussions, exercises, case studies and individual action planning. The trainer actively teaches expert content rather than simply facilitating discussion, so delegates leave with structured knowledge they can apply immediately. The style is engaging and practical throughout.

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On This Page

  1. 1 Course Overview
  2. 2 Key Skills
  3. 3 Who Should Attend
  4. 4 Course Agenda
  5. 5 Course Formats
  6. 6 Upcoming Dates
  7. 7 FAQs

Book This Course

Online Live Training £200 +VAT
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Customer Reviews

What Delegates Say About This Course

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★★★★★

"A very engaging course, lots to take away. At my current point of working life, a new leader/manager, I have learnt many techniques I can utilise, and also highlight bad habits. Chris was great, knowledgeable, engaging, approachable and fun to work with."

Phil Whitehead

Stroud District Council

★★★★★

"The course content was clear and very engaging. It made me think about how this training can improve and aid both my personal and work life. The trainer was very entertaining and the use of examples really aided the experience. Although a strong personality, he was not over-bearing and was very endearing and warm."

Efe Odeka

UHY Hacker Young LLP

★★★★★

"The course content felt quite packed, but not in a negative way. A lot of information was covered, which encourages revisiting the material in the coming weeks and months to fully appreciate and continue the learn. For me the time management and goal setting were most beneficial. Chris was calm and measured in his manner. He come across as confident and well versed in the material. He managed to present the information in a clear and precise manner, not once did it approach feeling overwhelming."

Brian Smith

Birmingham Hippodrome

Related Reading

Ready to Set Goals That Actually Get Achieved?

Book this four-hour follow-on session for yourself or your team, and leave with a clear goal, a written plan, and the motivation to carry it through.

Book Open Course Enquire about In-House

Or speak to a member of our team directly:

020 3856 3037 01452 856091