Goal Comments, Templates & SMART Fields
How to comment on a goal inside a match, start a goal from a template, and fill in the SMART fields. A MentorStack help center guide for mentors and mentees.
This page covers three parts of the goal tools that sit beside the basics in Setting & Tracking Goals: comments on a goal, goal templates, and the SMART fields. Comments let a mentor and mentee talk about one goal in one place. Templates and SMART fields help a mentee write a clearer goal.
Comment on a goal
Comments live on the Goals tab of a match. Both people in the match can read and post them.
- Open the match and go to the Goals tab.
- Click a goal to expand it.
- On the Milestones tab inside the goal, scroll to the Comments section.
- Type in the Add a comment box. A comment can hold up to 2,000 characters.
- Click Post. A Comment posted message confirms it.
Each comment shows the author's name and how long ago it was posted. Comments appear in the order they were posted. If a goal has none yet, the section reads No comments yet.
When you post a comment on a goal that belongs to a match, the other person in the match gets an in-app notification titled New comment on a goal. It includes the first 100 characters of your comment.
Note
Comments can be read and posted by the goal owner and by active participants in the match the goal is linked to. Other people, including an admin who is not part of the match, cannot read or post them.
Start a goal from a template
Templates give you a ready-made title, description, and set of milestones to edit.
- Open the new goal form: click New Goal on the Goals page, or Create Goal on a match's Goals tab.
- Click Start from template at the top of the form.
- In the Browse Goal Templates window, search by title or description, or pick a category tab. Each template shows its category, a career stage label (Early Career, Mid Career, or Senior) when one is set, and its number of milestones.
- Click a template, or click Use. The window closes.
- Edit the title, description, and milestones as needed, set a Target Date, then click Create Goal.
Using a template fills in the title, the description, and up to 20 milestones. It does not set a target date. If the template list does not load, a Retry button appears.
Note
Start from template only appears when you create a goal. It is not shown when you edit an existing goal.
Fill in the SMART fields
SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. The goal form has a SMART Framework section for these five answers.
- In the goal form, click SMART Framework to expand it. A counter such as 2/5 shows how many fields you have filled.
- Answer any of the five fields. Each field has a prompt:
- Specific: What exactly will be accomplished?
- Measurable: How will progress be measured?
- Achievable: Is this realistic given constraints?
- Relevant: Why does this matter to your development?
- Time-bound: What is the deadline or timeframe?
- Click Create Goal (or Save when you edit a goal).
Each field is optional and holds up to 2,000 characters.
To read the answers later, expand the goal on the match's Goals tab and open the SMART Goals tab. It is read-only. If no field was filled in, it reads No SMART fields added yet. To change an answer, edit the goal.
AI Assist on the goal form can also draft the SMART fields. See Setting & Tracking Goals and AI Copilot Features for how AI suggestions work and what they cost in credits.
Plan limits
The number of active goals depends on your plan. A Free Pilot allows 2 active goals per person and 2 per match. Starter, Growth, and Enterprise allow 5 for each. Your organization can set a lower limit.