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Where Goal Setting Can Go Wrong
Goal setting can go wrong for a number of reasons:
Outcome goals can be set instead of performance goals. Where you are using outcome goals, and you fail to achieve the goal for reasons outside your control, this can be very dispiriting and can lead to loss of enthusiasm and feelings of failure. Always set performance goals.
Goals can be set unrealistically high. When a goal is perceived to be unreachable, no effort will be made to achieve it. Set realistic goals.
Conversely goals can be set so low that you feel no challenge of benefit in achieving the goal. Setting goals has been a waste of time. Always set goals that are challenging.
Goals can be so vague that they are useless: it is difficult to know whether vague goals have been achieved. If achievement cannot be measured, then your self-confidence will not benefit from goal setting, nor can you observe progress towards a greater goal. Set precise, quantitative goals.
Goal setting can be unsystematic, sporadic and disorganized. Here goals will be forgotten, achievement of goals will not be measured and feedback will not occur into new goals. The major benefits of goal setting have been lost. Be organized and regular in the way that you use goal setting.
Too many improprieties goals may be set, leading to a feeling of overload. Remember that you deserve time to relax and enjoy being human.
Where goal setting does go wrong, not only are the benefits of goal setting lost, but the whole process of goal setting can fall into disrepute.
By avoiding these problems, and setting goals effectively as described in the previous article, you can achieve and maintain strong forward momentum.
The 'Quantum Leap' Approach
One approach to goal setting for yourself and other people is the 'Quantum Leap' approach. This tries to force intense activity by setting a goal that will need a 'quantum leap' in activity to achieve it. This is a dangerous technique that should be used with care - it is very easy for the whole process of goal-setting to fall into disrepute where quantum leap goals are not met. Similarly if you are really not convinced that a goal is attainable, you will not put effort into achieving it. Managers using this approach should take care that they are not 'shot down' by someone firmly requesting information on how a quantum leap goal should be achieved.
--reference: www.mindtools.com
Achieving Goals
When you have achieved a goal, take the time to enjoy the satisfaction of having achieved the goal. Absorb the implications of the goal achievement, and observe the progress you have made towards other goals.
If the goal was a significant one, or one that you had worked towards for some time, take the opportunity to reward yourself appropriately.
Feedback: Failure
Where you have failed to reach a goal, ensure that you learn the lessons of the failure. These may be:
that you didn't try hard enough
that your technique, skills or knowledge were faulty and need to be enhanced
that the goal you set was unrealistic
etc.
Use this information to adjust the goal if it was set too high, or to set goals to acquire new skills or knowledge. Feeding back like this turns everything into a positive learning experience - even failing to meet a goal is a step forward towards perfect performance!
Remember that the fact of trying something, even if it does not work, often opens doors that would otherwise have remained closed.
Feedback: Success
Where you have achieved a goal this should feed back into your next goals:
If the goal was easily achieved, make your next goals harder
If the goal took a dispiriting length of time to achieve, make the next goals a little easier
If you learned something that would lead you to change goals still outstanding, do so
If while achieving the goal you noticed a deficit in your skills, set goals to fix this.
Remember too that goals change as you mature - adjust them regularly to reflect this growth in your personality. If goals do not hold any attraction any longer, then let them go - goal setting is your servant, not your master - it should bring you real pleasure, satisfaction and a sense of achievement.
--reference: www.mindtools.com
