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I'm going hard in on Locke and Latham on goal setting for the first time. It makes painful reading when applied to how I've seen goal setting done with pupils and teachers in many years of education.
Quick things to think about.
Quick things to think about.
1. People need to be committed to goals. You can't just impose them.
2. People need to believe they are attainable.
3. People need to have the capacity and resources to achieve goals.
2. People need to believe they are attainable.
3. People need to have the capacity and resources to achieve goals.
4. If personal goals conflict with organisational goals you have a problem.
5. This can be a particular problem in places where there isn't alignment around vision. If people see a place as a career stepping stone it might be logical for them to pursue visible CV building activities over less visible deeper goals.
6. For goals to bite feedback is required. If the feedback doesn't result in further goal setting you won't get anywhere.
7. If a goal is simple then rewarding for attainment works. If it is complex then rewarding for progress against the final goal (component parts) is better.
High stakes fear based accountability is counterproductive and leads to attempts to game the system.
High stakes fear based accountability is counterproductive and leads to attempts to game the system.
8. All from opening chapter of Locke and Latham (ed) New Developments in Goal Setting and Task Performance.
9. Now onto Chapter 3. Stretch Goals by Kerr and LePelley.
10. Stretch goals. Ie goals that are unrealistic are typically thought to be ridiculous by those assigned them. They then pay no attention. But organisations (and schools) continue to set them.
11. Oh. Not always thought unrealistic. But those assigned unrealistic stretch goals who don't find them ridiculous tend to find them demoralising and become despondent. Given how bad they are curious to find out why assigning them such common practice..
12. OK so 'stretch goals' came about because of a view that when more realistic goals are set we bake in pessimistic assumptions about what's possible and don't think 'big picture' enough. Stretch goals seek to redefine the paradigm.
13. In some contexts they have worked. Everything works somewhere right?
But it's an all or nothing bet and there's a LOT of dangers.
But it's an all or nothing bet and there's a LOT of dangers.
14.
A. People pursuing a bonkers goal will do bonkers things.
B Inevitable and constant failure leads to people becoming despondent and out of alignment with their organisation.
C. People begin avoiding setting goals as they find them horrible.
A. People pursuing a bonkers goal will do bonkers things.
B Inevitable and constant failure leads to people becoming despondent and out of alignment with their organisation.
C. People begin avoiding setting goals as they find them horrible.
15. Ooh. Now this is interesting. Levinson reckons goals set by peers and immediate management tend to be better than those set by distanced senior management because they understand the structures of the problems better.
