I love a good check list. I find it unusually satisfying to complete a task and cross it off the list.

Sometimes I even add things to the list, just so I can cross them off.

For those of you fellow achievers, you totally understand. Goals make us feel organized and successful.

There are also endless amounts of research that backs up the importance of setting goals. It motivates teams, guides action, and encourages persistence.

However, there is also a dark side to goal setting. There are lots of things we need to be wary about when we set goals for ourselves and our teams.

1. Goals can drive the wrong behaviour. When goals become most central, people resort to doing whatever it takes to reach it, including lying, violating policies, and stealing.

 2. Goals can blind you. When goals are too specific, you can lose sight of the big picture. A narrow focus can prevent you from seeing additional opportunities or pivoting when there are changes in the market. It can also prevent you from seeing how a goal in one area of your organization impacts another. For example, creating a goal to increase clientele can be problematic if you don’t have capacity to do so.

 3. Goals can be demotivating. Not meeting a goal, even narrowly, can create a sense of failure. Exceeding a goal often means you’re assigned more work. And achieving a goal before the deadline can create sluggishness because who wants to keep working if a goal is already achieved?   

 4. Goals can create stress. People push themselves trying to meet goals before the end of the quarter or year, forgetting that these deadlines are arbitrary. Does it really matter if the sale is closed on January 3rd? Is it worth the extra stress?

 5. Goals can waste time. Doing the activities that matter most often take the most effort. As humans, we often want to avoid this. It is far easier to cross off items on your to-do list that take less effort. Unfortunately, they often also are less important and prevent people from spending time on what really matters.

Goals can create negative outcomes. But these outcomes can also be avoided. Recognizing these pitfalls to goal setting can help.

As a challenge this week, consider the goals you’ve set for yourself or your team. Are they driving the wrong behaviour, losing sight of the big picture, demotivating people, creating stress, or wasting time? If so, altering these goals or the method for attaining them is necessary.

The good news is that small changes or tweaks to your process is often all it takes.

If you need any support in this process, we’re here to help.