Research has shown that in addition to goals being clear, they should also be difficult, i.e. they should require effort. And this level of difficulty on goals, it should be so high that we do not always reach the goals we formulate with certainty, but it is likely that they should be so highly formulated that we regularly fail to reach our goals. And in experimental studies where you try to turn up the degree of difficulty in goal formulations, you see that our performance, our learning and our behaviors continue to develop positively yet up to 90 percent failed goal fulfillment.
We should formulate goals that are so difficult that we regularly fail to achieve them. And here lies a paradox because we very many businesses talk a lot about the importance of goal fulfillment. You set salary based on goal fulfillment, you have a bonus system linked to goal fulfillment, you have different types of competitions linked to goal fulfillment.
It is not the fulfillment of the goal that is important, but a goal should only be formulated in such a way that it maximizes the outcome of the dimension around which we have formulated a goal. If we then formulate a goal that is far beyond our ability to achieve the goal, but it actually affects our actual performance and our actual behaviors, then that is the goal we are to formulate. If this means that we sometimes need to fail to achieve our goals in order for it to have a maximum impact on our performance and our behaviors, then we should formulate goals at the level where we actually fail regularly. Of course, it is extremely important that we do not attach incentives to goal fulfillment as such, but if we are to have incentives, they should be linked to the actual performance, what we actually get out of our hands. And then, of course, it is extremely important that we do not attach incentives to goal fulfillment as such, but if we are to have incentives, they should be linked to the actual performance, what we actually get out of our hands.
So sum up, formulate goals that are difficult and challenging, that one regularly fails to achieve. And remember that it is not the fulfillment of the goal that is the single most important, it is what the goal does with the actual behaviors, the actual achievements and the actual results.
About Stefan Söderfjäll
Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology Stefan Söderfjäll has studied our human behavior for over 20 years. Stefan wants to bring out research-based knowledge, above all about how we behave in working life. Stefan Söderfjäll is one of the owners of the Swedish digital tool for goal control, GoalEnvision. GoalEnvision is a powerful tool for you who want to set goals together in the company. GoalEnvision provides tips on successful goals and a simple methodology to get everyone to get the right things done.
Stefan Söderfjäll is a Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology and has spent more than 20 years bringing out research-based knowledge about how we behave, especially about how we behave in working life.
