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Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost

Discover the Power of Small Steps

“There is always a step small enough from where we are to get us to where we want to be. If we take that small step, there’s always another we can take, and eventually a goal thought to be too far to reach becomes achievable.” 

– Ellen Langer

March 2025 | Courtney Thornton 

Ever set a challenging goal and achieve it? Then you can probably name some small and simple steps that were key to your success. Maybe a clear and specific goal kept you focused. Maybe a weekly coffee chat with a coworker or friend kept you motivated. Maybe you turned your one big goal into several small ones, celebrating each win along the way. 

Each of those steps – which provide clarity, accountability and plans – are proven practices that increase the likelihood of successfully reaching a goal. We’re using these same proven practices at NC State to empower Wolfpack 2030 implementation plan contacts and drive their initiatives toward success. 

Almost two years ago, we began the practice of holding every-other-month check-in calls with implementation plan contacts. Busy contacts, often consumed by issues of the day, tell us that these informal touchpoints bring needed focus. We consistently begin with two simple questions: 

  1. What are the one or two most significant activities, decisions or outcomes that have occurred since the last check-in?
  2. What barriers or challenges to progress are you facing now or anticipating?

This year, we’ve aimed to ensure each implementation plan initiative has a clear end goal in sight. This was the focus of our first ever planning retreat and workshop for contacts, held this January. To assist contacts, we looked to the SMART goal framework. It is familiar to NC State employees because UHR has promoted SMART goal setting in recent annual performance review cycles. The framework ensures that goals are

  • Specific,
  • Measurable,
  • Achievable,
  • Relevant and
  • Time-Bound. 

Soon we’ll explore with contacts the meaningful milestones that exist on the way to their end goals. Each small step we take to support initiative success also enhances our portfolio view of NC State’s priority initiatives.

Try it yourself. Use the UHR handout to tease out specifics for one of your big goals. We bet you’ll gain enhanced clarity for planning your next small step towards success.

Want to learn more about the implementation of Wolfpack 2030? Email strategic-planning@ncsu.edu.