The problem with goal setting… 3 common mistakes

We are at that stage in the year where most of the organisations I work with are

coming towards the end of their financial year and starting to get their heads around next year’s goals.

Whether you are an individual considering your own goals for the coming year, or a leader considering the team or organisational goals, you have the opportunity to set yourself up for a positive or negative spiral.

If the goal involves a positive reward the expectation of a reward can have an impact on your mood and the way you think about things, building momentum and motivation as you progress.

Whereas if the goal involves you moving away from a problem you will spend a lot of time focussing on the problem itself rather than solutions. This can draw you into a negative spiral facing all the reasons why it exists in the first place and all the things that are place that help create it. It can sometimes feel overwhelming and difficult before you even get started!

Setting the right goal is like a gift that keeps on giving – you continue to get positive benefits all the while you head towards it. This is easier said than done. Being able to establish simple, motivational goals takes practice.

In my experience many people make the following mistakes:

Time

The first mistake is that not enough time is given to the process. It’s seen as a task, or worse still a chore that has to be done. It’s either put off until the last minute to the exercise, or squeezed in to your diary to get it done and out of the way. In both of these circumstances not a lot of thought is given to really consider what the focus will be and how to language the goal appropriately.

 

Set some quality time aside to consider what it is you really want to achieve. What will make a difference to your strategy and is it achievable?

What is missing in your activities that will take you further towards your vision?

Take some time to really craft how you word your goal(s) using positive language and meaningful measures (see below).

 

Problem Focussed

The second mistake is that often goals are structured around solving a problem rather than creating a solution.

For example we’re not hitting or profit targets, or a drop in customer numbers, or  a system problem. This is no surprise as our brains are wired to find and fix problems. Problems are easier to find and identify with so we get side tracked and drawn in to looking for them. We are often really clear about what the problem is whereas we don’t always know what the solution could be.

This causes us to use more negative language, or language focussed on fixing the problem. On a personal level we use language such as; lose weight, don’t smoke, don’t fight, stop drinking…. This simply encourages us to focus on the problem.

The way around this is to focus on the solution you are trying to create. A question I often ask is what do you want instead of the problem? This way you build a world around the solution you want to create – even if you’re not sure what this will be exactly. Using the above examples you might focus on a particular dress size, level of fitness, the type of relationship you want…

A goal written this way allows you to visualise what you want and connect with it. You brain will then register what you’re aiming towards and you’ll start o feel good as you make progress towards it.

        

Results Focussed

Mistake number three is that we often establish measures for the end result. This is great and certainly better than no measures at all. However, if we want a ‘gift that keeps on giving’ it’s worth setting up some measure that let you know you are making progress.

• What would be the first sign that you are on track?
• What small achievements do you notice along the way?
• How do you see people responding?
• What are people saying?
• How do you feel?

These may be tangible (qualitative) results or more quantitative - how people are responding and behaving or the general mood.

So before you start to consider your goals set aside some quality time and focus on the solution you want to create. If you’ve already started the process go back and review what you’ve written.

Remember it takes practice to write positive motivational goals.

Good luck and let me know how you get on.

‘Whatever the mind can conceive and believe the mind will achieve.’

Napoleon Hill