Part 4: GOAL Setting that Works

There are two primary lines of thought when it comes to GOAL setting. Camp 1 believe that GOALS need to be realistic in order for people to believe in the GOAL and stay motivated.

Camp 2 think that a GOAL should be large, well beyond your current performance and cause a certain amount of growth and discomfort.

The truth is, both these lines of thought have merit, and both have limitations.

The primary issues are:

• If the GOAL you’re striving for is far beyond what your current INDENTITY can accept, then your mind will reject the GOAL (consciously or unconsciously) and you’ll never make any progress, or the gains won’t stick.
• Paradoxically, if the GOAL isn’t big enough to cause growth or a level of desire, want or excitement, then it’s likely you’ll become bored and never really make a meaningful impact.

So, the question is: how do we navigate GOAL setting?

Firstly, we need to acknowledge that whenever we do something that involves human behaviour, it’s complex. It’s never linear and each person has their own unique perception, needs and style.

Therefore, GOAL setting is personal and must consider the individual. Rarely does one-size-fit-all.

Having said that, broadly speaking, the primary reasons people and teams don’t hit GOALS are:

1. The GOAL is too big or totally unrealistic
2. The GOAL is too simple or not big enough
3. The person or team had no say in the GOAL (top down with no collaboration)
4. The structures to support GOAL attainment are flawed
5. Resources are inadequate

For individuals and teams to improve their strike rate there are a few things you can consider:

• The GOAL has to be big enough to cause growth, excitement, and a challenge. But not so big that people reject it because it is far beyond what their IDENTITY will accept. If you’re setting big GOALS, break it up into sub-GOALS and have checkpoints along the way.
• Understand that GOAL setting is unique to each person, so do your best to engage with them about their GOAL. There has to be some intrinsic or extrinsic value otherwise it has no meaning.
• If the company has established GOALS which people are not aligning with, see if you can create sub-GOALS that are meaningful to them, but at the same time contribute to the company GOAL. Sometime this can be as simple as changing corporate language.
• Make the GOAL quite specific, with a date. Flaky GOALS with no deadline do not send a strong enough signal to prompt INDENTITY change.
• Take time to keep the GOAL front-of-mind. Remember how IDENTITY is formed. To get long term change you will need to ‘impress’ the GOAL into the new IDENTITY. This can only be done through repetition and associated emotions. Discuss it often and place triggers in prominent locations.

As previously mentioned, GOAL setting alone will not typically create the desired change, so we also need to support the process with HABIT formation.

In the following article we’ll discuss the part HABIT plays in GOAL attainment and IDENTITY formation.

If this was helpful and you'd like to know more, we're hosting a live training event on the 6 April 2024. We go through this in detail and help you identify what to work on and set up structures that support long term change. Please PM if interested or click on the link in the first comment.