Locke's Goal-Setting Theory

In the late 1960s, Locke's pioneering research into goal setting and motivation gave us our modern understanding of goal setting. In his 1968 article "Towards a Theory of Task Motivation and Incentive ," he showed that clear goals and appropriate feedback motivate employees. He went on to highlight that working toward a goal is also a major source of motivation – which, in turn, improves performance.

Locke's research showed that the more difficult and specific a goal is, the harder people tend to work to achieve it.

In one study, Locke reviewed a decade's worth of laboratory and field studies on the effects of goal setting and performance. He found that, for 90 percent of the time, specific and challenging (but not too challenging) goals led to higher performance than easy, or "do your best," goals.

For example, telling someone to "try hard" or "do your best" is less effective than saying "try to get more than 80 percent correct," or "concentrate on beating your best time." Likewise, having a goal that's too easy is not motivating. Hard goals are more motivating than easy ones, because it feels more of an accomplishment to achieve something you've worked hard for.

n 1990, Locke and Latham published their seminal work, "A Theory of Goal Setting & Task Performance." In this book, they repeated the need to set specific and difficult goals, while outlining five other characteristics for successful goal setting.

Locke and Latham's Five Principles

According to Locke and Latham, there are five goal setting principles that can improve our chances of success:

1. Clarity.
2. Challenge.
3. Commitment.
4. Feedback.
5. Task complexity.

Let's look at each of these elements, and explore how you can apply them to your personal goals and to your team's objectives.

1. Setting Clear Goals

When your goals are clear, you know what you're trying to achieve. You can also measure results accurately, and you know which behaviors to reward. However, when a goal is vague – or when you express it as a general instruction like "take initiative" – it isn't easy to measure, and it isn't motivating. You may not even know you've achieved it!

2. Setting Challenging Goals

People are often motivated by challenging goals, however it's important not to set a goal that is so challenging it can't be achieved.

• Look at your goal. Is it challenging enough to spark your interest?
• Develop self discipline, so that you have the persistence to work through problems.

• 3. Securing Team Commitment

  To be effective, your team must understand and agree to the goals – team members are more likely to "buy into" a goal if they have been involved in setting it. This doesn't mean that you have to negotiate every goal with your team members and secure their approval. They're likely to commit to it as long as they believe that the goal is achievable, it is consistent with the company's ambitions, and the person assigning it is credible.

• 4. Gaining Feedback

  In addition to selecting the right goals, you should also listen to feedback, so that you can gauge how well you and your team are progressing.

  Feedback gives you the opportunity to clarify people's expectations and adjust the difficulty of their goals.

  Keep in mind that feedback doesn't have to come from other people. You can check how well you're doing by simply measuring your own progress.