Five Goal-setting Principles That Can Increase The Chance of Success

Many people feel as if they're adrift in the world. They work hard, but they don't seem to get anywhere worthwhile.

Goal setting?is a powerful process for thinking about your ideal future, and for motivating yourself to turn your vision of this future into reality.

The process of setting goals helps you choose where you want to go in life. By knowing precisely what you want to achieve, you know where you have to concentrate your efforts. You'll also quickly spot the distractions that can, so easily, lead you astray.

Locke and Latham’s five principles

According to Locke and Latham, there are five goal-setting principles that can increase the chance of success:

1. Clarity

A clear goal can be measured; no room for misunderstandings;

Explicit goals with regard to which result is desired and how it will be measured;

Comparable to the SMART principles that help to understand the task, measuring the results and achieving success.

2. Challenge

Setting challenging goals demands an accurate balance to guarantee the right level of challenge. Goals that are either too easy or too difficult negatively influence the motivation and decrease performance. The highest level of motivation is reached when goals are somewhere between easy and difficult.

Setting challenging goals demands an accurate balance to guarantee the right level of challenge;

Goals that are too easy or too difficult negatively impact motivation and may reduce the performance;

The highest level of motivation is achieved upon the right balance between easy and difficult.

When you set next goals, make sure these are challenging yet realistic, difficult yet achievable. Ask yourself the following questions when setting goals. Are they challenging enough? Are they significant enough to be motivating??

Are they realistic and achievable?

3. Effort

Fully understanding and coordinating the set goals;

Motivation due to own input when setting goals;

People have the tendency to work harder for a goal when they were involved in setting it, particularly in a team;

Staying motivated as long as the goal is actually achievable and is in accordance with the aspirations of all those involved.

4. Feedback

In addition to selecting the right goal, you must also listen to feedback to determine whether you’re doing it right. This allows you to adjust the goal and your approach to achieve it. Feedback doesn’t necessarily have to come from other people. Feedback can also come from within.

Listening to feedback to check whether you’re headed in the right direction;

If necessary, adjusting the goal and approach to achieve the goal;

Feedback both from others and yourself.

5. Task complexity

Takes into account the complexity of the goals, given the fact that complexity can influence morale, productivity and motivation;

Complex goals can be overwhelming to people;

Make sure there’s enough time, allowing everyone enough time to work towards the goal and improve the performances;

If necessary, adjusting the complexity and level of difficulty of the goal.

The Locke’s Goal-Setting Theory emphasizes the important relationship between goals and performance; a goal setting theory of performance management. It supports predictions that seem to result in the most effective performances, when the goals are specific and challenging, when they are used to assess the performances and are linked to feedback.

Finally, look at the results and ensure commitment and acceptance. The motivation impact of goals can be influenced by moderators, such as capability and self-reliance. Additionally, deadlines improve the effectiveness of goals. Focus on a learning goal leads to higher performances than an objective and group goal, where mindset is just as important as individual goal setting.