Page 7 - August 2017 Voices
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Got Goals?
by Tom Cox, ACB, ALB
Why should you set goals? Quite simply, an awareness of their
because they work. potentially harmful side
effects.
What’s a goal? The risks of goals match their strengths.
A goal is a thing you wish to accomplish. According to a Harvard Business School working
When you have a goal, it means you wish to bring paper, “Goals Gone Wild: The Systematic Side
about a result in the future, and it’s not yet true. Effects of Over-Prescribing Goal Setting” by
Setting a goal creates tension Lisa D. Ordóñez, Maurice E. Schweitzer, Adam
• There’s tension between the state of affairs D. Galinsky & Max H. Bazerman, goals create
these risks:
that is true, and the state of affairs you
want to be true. • Goals help encourage over-focus—when
• There’s tension between now and the we cut away other tasks, that can include
future. crucial side effects of our goal seeking.
Moby Dick is a story of a goal gone wild.
How do goals help? • Goals can increase our investment too
The scientific literature on goals is compelling.
Hundreds of studies have shown that goals, much—if a goal is too hard and too
important, failing to achieve it can feel
set properly so that they are both specific and punitive and can harm performance for
challenging, can reliably and powerfully boost the long term.
performance and drive behavior.
• Goals can increase our risk taking too
Goals work for several reasons much—many instances of corporate and
• Goals help us focus—we cut away other personal corner-cutting, excessive risk
tasks when we decide to focus on a goal. taking, and unethical behavior were fueled
• Goals increase our investment—a good by strong goal seeking.
goal is motivating, and missing the goal will • Goals can reduce our intrinsic motivation—
feel bad, so setting the goal can mobilize Researchers have found that, when external
our energy and effort. goals and rewards are introduced, workers
• Goals can increase our risk taking—if we can lose touch with the inherent joy of the
work, leading to an overall decreased sense
are shy about getting out of our comfort of joy, craftsmanship, and engagement.
zones or taking chances, a goal can help us • Goals can misdirect us—An accomplish-
overcome that resistance. ment goal can harm learning, while a
• Goals can feel rewarding—Sometimes it’s learning goal can harm performance.
fun to check off an accomplishment simply • Goals can create a culture of competition
because we set the goal and now we get to and harm teamwork.
mark it as complete. (The brain chemical It can also be devilishly tricky to set the right
in play when we feel this is Dopamine.)
• Goals can be flexible—An accomplishment
goal can get us to focus while a learning Goals help us focus—
goal can get us to notice, reflect, and learn. we cut away other tasks
While goals do have strong positive effects,
they can also be misused. when we decide to focus
Like a powerful drug, goals need to be
used carefully—in measured doses and with on a goal
Thomas Cox, Winter TLI 2016
VOLUME 4 ISSUE 2 AUGUST, 2017 7
